


Two Against The World

by mankindness



Category: Left 4 Dead 2
Genre: Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Tension, Zombies
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-08-01
Updated: 2014-12-21
Packaged: 2018-02-11 08:01:52
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 26,076
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2060337
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mankindness/pseuds/mankindness
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Set after The Parish campaign. The CEDA camp in which the survivors are living becomes overrun, and the group gets separated. Nick and Ellis must work even harder to survive and find their friends again, but what will they have to struggle through in order to reunite?<br/></p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Trials and Tribulations

The relative safety that Rochelle, Coach, Ellis, and Nick had felt in the CEDA camps completely disappeared when infected clawed their way into their supposed haven. Their human-hungry enemies would have been much less of a threat had their weapons not been taken away when they first arrived, however they were all thinking it was just a matter of time before their security was breached, especially considering they were living in tents- which were _meant_ to be durable and zombie proof; but apparently the people of CEDA hadn't been around infected enough to know that if wooden doors didn't act a barrier, neither would any special plastic.

Thankfully the four had been in the same tent when the attack began at the other end of the camp, so they had more time to prepare than anyone else. They retrieved some weapons from a pair of fallen CEDA guards outside. Rochelle and Ellis took their AK-47s, unfortunately quite low on ammo, while Coach and Nick tried to find sidearms to defend themselves and the others with.

They walked with their backs to the high concrete wall, which infected were managing to climb over around the perimeter, before swarming over to whoever was closest, ceaselessly tearing them to shreds. It was horrific; and despite all the time they had spent out there, all the gore and violence they'd seen, nothing was as bad. Like when they'd seen one of those walking corpses half burnt to a crisp but still sprinting at them with the vile stench of smouldering, rotten flesh accompanying it. Even that seemed barely disturbing compared to the agonised cries of a human being torn open and pulled apart.

The new, much harsher world still hadn't desensitised Ellis. He _was_ a tough, bad ass zombie killing machine who could defend himself, but his kindness and natural inclination to help others hadn't been affected, which was usually a positive. At that moment it was not.

He stood there staring, eyes filled with sadness while his hand clamped over his mouth. He wanted to help, wanted to look away, but he could do neither. It took a rough tug on his arm from Nick to knock him out of his state.

"Ellis, _come on_. We have to get out."

Ellis nodded and began to move, following the others along the wall. He kept looking back over his shoulder, and what he saw caused him to stop in his tracks and almost burst into tears.

That person was still alive, barely hanging onto life by a thread using the last of their energy to look at Ellis, begging for help with their eyes in a way that made Ellis' heart break. The eyes then widened, then glazed over; the life was gone.

Ellis gathered himself enough to start walking again, however when he turned he was met with another horror. Yet another horde was pouring in, infected such as boomers and hunters amongst the crowd. He immediately skidded back towards the wall, ducking to hide in between it and one of the small office buildings within the compound. He had managed to get a few well-aimed headshots on some infected that had noticed him, though he was still fearing that he was going to get swarmed as well. Clutching his gun with clammy hands, Ellis realised he was alone.

Before the panic set in, he looked to his side and saw his friends hiding behind another building. He looked at the trio helplessly, his eyes almost sharing the same pleading look of the person he'd just witnessed dying. Rochelle put her finger to her lips, telling Ellis to be silent. She then put her hand up to him, indicating for him stay still, presumably until the horde had reached the other end of the camp. He flinched as gunshots and screams came from what felt like all around them. He was dreading a boomer just stumbling across him, consequently attracting every zombie for miles.

Ellis peered around the corner and from what he could see, the coast was clear save for the puddles of crimson mess and miscellaneous body parts and insides scattered around.

He looked over to Rochelle and she nodded. Ellis tried his best to move swiftly but quietly, and when he got over to the others Rochelle grabbed his arm, pulling him down into a crouching position. From the new angle the view was much worse. Thankfully the crowd of infected had their backs to the four, some running towards their prey while the ones at the back shuffled as they waited for their work to be done for them before enjoying their feast.

"What're we gunna do?" Ellis asked.

Coach looked around and saw a few steps that led to the back door of the building they were using for cover.

"Up here." He said, and the others followed. With no hesitation nor preparation, Coach slammed his elbow into the small window pane in the door. The sound of the glass shattering didn't exactly go with their plan to be stealthy, although the infected appeared too distracted.

"Man's a goddamn machine." Nick murmured as Coach didn't even flinch at the impact. He reached in and unlocked the door, not before checking to see if the room was clear first. It was, and he told the others to come in, closing the door behind them. There were a few chairs around the room so they all sat, trying to regain their bearings. Ellis muttered curses as well as half-hearted prayers , while Nick gently took the gun from him to check how much ammunition was left.

"How much ammo have you got, Ro?" He asked.

"Not enough."

"Yeah... same here." He replied, standing the gun against the wall.

Following a moments' silence, another door which looked like it led to a closet caught Rochelle's eye. "What's in there?" She asked, frowning.

"Don't ask us," Coach said.

Rochelle got up and walked over to the door, raising her gun. "Open the door for me, please, Coach. Slowly."

Coach quietly twisted the doorknob before lightly pushing the door open, though with enough force that it would reveal the whole room. Rochelle was not faced with any enemies but something strange. Metal rails ran on both sides of the narrow closet, and hanging off of them were dozens of clothes covered in plastic sheets. Upon closer inspection she realised they belonged to the residents of the camp.

"Holy shit..." Ellis commented, looking for his own clothes. Rochelle hadn't noticed the others coming in. "Should we take 'em back?"

"Definitely," Nick responded. "I am sick and tired of wearing these shitty CEDA clothes." It wasn't long before Nick found his suit, still as dirty and stained as it was the day they arrived.

"I wonder why they just kept our clothes like this," Ellis piped up again. "I mean, I'da thought they'da burned 'em or somethin'. But if they were keeping 'em here why didn't they clean 'em?"

"I ain't sure, young'un. Maybe they were keeping them for testing." Coach tried to offer an explanation. Ellis shrugged.

"I'm just glad my hat's here, too."

Coach chuckled fondly. "Damn right."

Once they were changed, Nick noticed something on the floor underneath the rails of clothes, hidden in the shadows. "Check it out," He said, holding up a baseball bat that was still marked with specks of dried blood. Ellis grabbed a fire axe, Rochelle a machete, and Coach, too, a baseball bat.

"What's the plan?" Nick asked.

Rochelle peeked through the shutter blinds at the only window which faced the entrance of the camp, where the gates had been forced open by the collective force of the horde.

"It's clear for now. We have to move and get out while we can."

They were soon outside and using the building as cover again. It was a clear, straight run. Simple.

"If anyone at _any_ point gets separated, head for the coast. Follow road signs, anything that'll help. Just get there. We'll be waiting." Coach instructed. Almost punctuating his words, a hunter pounced and tackled him to the ground, like it had been watching and waiting for the perfect opportunity. It was a moment of shock and fear, and in that short time Rochelle forgot they were relying on stealth in order to get by unnoticed. She shot at the hooded bastard until its _fully_ dead body flew off of Coach and skidded along the ground, leaving a trail of blood.

The haunting cry of alerted infected drowned out Coach's words of thanks. They had found new, live prey with fresh flesh and warm blood and were sprinting towards the four as fast as their undead legs could take them.

Ellis immediately ran towards the exit, thinking the others were doing the same. However just Nick was running too, and that was only because he'd seen Ellis take off and knew that no-one should be alone if at all possible.

It was when the drooling infected started pouring in from the camp entrance- their only way out- that the panic really started to rise. Nick's head snapped back to look for Rochelle and Coach, and from what he saw he was sure they were surrounded. This was because he actually couldn't see them at all amongst the masses of zombies.

There were no gunshots being fired, so unless the pair had ran out of bullets and were using solely melee weapons to fight, that meant that they were incapacitated or worse.

Nick wanted to help, of course he did, but the infected had not yet noticed him and Ellis, meaning they could slip out of the gates quite easily. He also didn't know that if they _did_ manage to kill all of the zombies there, whether they could save the other two if they were still alive. And that 'if was a big 'if'. They were nearly out of ammunition as it was and definitely not at their strongest. So Nick made a tough decision, one that he really wished he didn't have to make. He grabbed Ellis by the shoulder just as the younger man was about to run right towards where they last saw Coach and Rochelle.

"What're you doin'?" Ellis asked, looking confused.

"We gotta leave," Nick said quickly, practically dragging him away. Ellis planted his feet and started pulling in the other direction.

"Wha-? No! Nick, we have to help 'em-"

There was no time to be gentle or for explaining. Nick just needed to say something to get them out of there.

"Ellis, for fuck's sake, if we don't leave now we're gonna end up dead too, so _come on_!"

Ellis' eyes went wide and sad again before he allowed himself to be pulled away from the CEDA camp, and away from their presumed dead friends.

~

"If you didn't mean it then why the hell did you say it in the first place?"

It had been a long, silent walk with an air of grief and anger simmering on the surface- that was on Ellis' side. Nick's side was more of a mixture: mostly regret, slight relief at escaping (which he couldn't enjoy because of the regret), and also trepidation at what their journey had in store for them.

"I needed to get you out of there, Ellis! Did you not see how many zombies were there? Way more than we could've taken on with barely any ammo, an axe, and a baseball bat,"

"Coach and Rochelle could'a helped us," Ellis said quietly. Nick sighed ruefully.

"Yeah, maybe... but listen, if they were able to help us we would have made things worse and become a hindrance. And at that point they just needed to look out for eachother. You know I didn't mean it when I said they were dead," Ellis remained looking unconvinced. "Look, we'll find them, they're fucking tough, you know that. They're gonna be fine, so will we. But it's too late to turn back now, kid, we need to find supplies and a safe house... just somewhere to rest."

Ellis nodded. It was obvious he wasn't happy with the situation, but he was starting to accept it.

They'd been guided by drawings on walls and roads indicating the direction of the nearest safe house, at one point though, the road had split off into two ways with no sign of what path to choose. They went left, a gamble which paid off as the signs for the safe house started reappearing after about half a mile.

Their journey so far had been eerily quiet and empty, but in no way did that mean they could relax or let their guard down. If anything it increased their apprehension to continue, caught in the fear that the infected had congregated elsewhere and the pair were about to stumble blindly into yet another hungry crowd.

The sun had set and darkness was closing in, which made Nick and Ellis even more anxious to find the safe room. Once the sky had turned black and the moon became their only source of light- seeing as the flashlight on Ellis' gun was broken, they reached a large barricade that was made from a lot of different materials; there were a few burned-out cars at the base and it had been built up from there. They both checked to see if there were any gaps, but there seemed to have none that they could fit through. Also, they concluded that it may not be a good idea to try to get through the barricade, considering some people appeared to go through a lot of effort to either keep people out or keep something in.

On the sidewalk Ellis noticed there were steps leading down to the subway, and on the concrete just before the stairs and arrow had been drawn and was pointing to them.

"I think we have to go down there and and get back out at the next stop." Ellis said.

"Yeah," Nick concurred. "Christ, it's gonna be dark down there."

There was no doubt about that. While walking down the steps, Ellis almost tripped because his legs felt so shaky. Even though Nick was leading the way, Ellis very close behind, he certainly didn't want to be walking into the dreadful sight that was the impossibly dark abyss in front of him. Like before, they walked with their backs pressed against the wall, stepping slowly and carefully. After they'd both found their footing when the steps ended, and it hit Nick how little they'd be able to see, he passed his baseball bat to the other hand and offered his free one to Ellis.

"Hold my hand."

Ellis frowned, not instantly understanding the reasoning behind it. "Huh?"

"So we don't get separated, and I know that you're here." Ellis got the picture and took his hand before quickly pulling it away.

"Sorry," He muttered. "My hands're kinda sweaty." He rubbed his palm on the leg on his coveralls. Nick, realising his were also clammy, did the same on his suit pants. Ellis then held the other man's hand, interlocking their fingers for a tighter grip.

"If you need to let go and run, go forward until you reach the next stop and wait for me there. Try not to use your gun so we can save ammo and keep quiet," Nick told him. "You ready?" He gave the other's hand a reassuring squeeze.

Ellis smiled briefly. "Yeah. Let's go."

It was pitch black, an intense darkness where they could have been walking with their eyes closed and it wouldn't have made any difference. Nick hoped his eyes would adjust to the extreme lack of light, so he could stop shuffling along the floor, worried that he'd trip on something if he took even the smallest steps.

Ellis was habitually rubbing his thumb over Nick's index finger and his knuckle, and in a way it was mildly soothing. Even if it was just in the way of knowing he was not alone, that through all of the tribulation there was someone with him. Initially he'd wanted to, and thought that he could go it alone, cut his losses and not have anyone slowing him down. But after some time with the other three he realised that he needed them and they were strong together. And they would be again, as soon as they met up at the coast.

It was a sound echoing through the subway tunnels that brought Nick back from his almost absent-minded state, a sound that made his stomach drop and heart race.

Crying. An instantly recognisable, low, long wail.

Ellis' mouth was dry. "Witch." He rasped quietly.

She was definitely going to be on their route to the other side, but they could try to avoid her. Nick stopped walking and leaned closer to Ellis, whispering to him.

"She can't see us. We've gotta be extra quiet so she won't hear us either. Walk slow and watch your step and we can slip right past her." He sensed the movement of Ellis nodding his head, then continued.

Nick couldn't recall a time before where he'd felt so tense and on edge. Even the time when they were being flown to the CEDA camp , and to what Nick thought would be their execution. Comparatively, that was nothing to what he was feeling while side-stepping painfully slowly past the witch, who was less than a metre from his feet. She was on the tracks, and he and Ellis were on a small ledge to the side. A ledge which suddenly felt a lot smaller than before; so small that Nick didn't know how his feet could fit on there- until they didn't.

Nick's heel slipped on the edge and he lost balance, his lower back smacking on the ledge, his foot accidentally crashing into the witch's side. She instinctively screeched at the contact, and Nick's heart was pounding in his ribcage, already in pain because of his back, mind racing in a blur- wondering where Ellis was, if the kid had just ran.

What made the terrifying ordeal even worse was that Nick still couldn't see her, but he made a pretty good guess that she was hunched right over him, about to rip him to pieces. There was a sharp scrape at his chest and he yelled, feeling winded. He was anticipating a whole lot more when the witch's shrieks ceased and was instead replaced with the sickening sound of a skull being cracked and bone being smashed, which still caused Nick to wince.

The witch's corpse fell across him and Nick gathered his remaining strength to push her off, only she felt unusually heavy. Most likely because of the fire axe jutting out of her head. Ellis' hands were on his arms, pulling him up. Nick managed to stay steady on his own, so Ellis got to retrieving his weapon; he placed on foot on the lower part of the back of her head, and with a grunt pulled the axe out- which made another horrid wet noise as it dislodged from the brain and blood.

"C'mon," Ellis urged, grabbing Nick's hand again, only this time he was in the lead. There was a tiny streak of moonlight coming in from the subway exit that Ellis used as his guide. At the bottom of the stairs Ellis stopped Nick and held him still to check his face for injuries. Gently, he pushed Nick's face to the side, seeing if there were any hidden cuts or scrapes that he'd need to patch in case they got infected.

"You don't need to do this, kid, I'm fine." Nick wheezed.

"Yeah. Bullshit." Ellis replied, smirking momentarily at him before his expression changed, displaying his full care and concern. He looked at where the witch had clawed at Nick's chest, the wound not particularly deep but still bleeding and seeping through onto his blue shirt. "We need to get you a first aid kit soon,"

"Mmm-hmm," Nick agreed, grimacing slightly in pain. Ellis was becoming frustrated, wishing there was something he could do. That was something on the ground caught his eye: a bottle of pills, that he quickly picked up and shook, the few remaining capsules rattling inside.

"Hold yer hand out," He requested softly. Nick did so, past the point of allowing his pride to rule him and insist he was okay.

Ellis emptied the contents of the bottle onto Nick's palm, who swallowed them dryly, making a face as one stubborn pill stuck to the inside of his throat.

"Thanks," He said, voice rough.

"No problem. Now stay here, I'm gunna check if it's clear up there,"

Ellis crouched as he carefully ascended the stairs, gripping the axe tightly with both hands. Nick watched as he got to the top, bar a few steps, and looked around at street level several times. He twisted the cap of his hat around as he peeked around the corner so it didn't poke out and advertise his whereabouts.

Seeing how thoughtful and cautious the kid was being had Nick feeling very fortunate that he had him as his team mate at the end of the world. He had kindness running through his veins, an unwithering consideration for other people. Previously in his life, Nick would have seen that as a form of weakness, though Ellis couldn't have proved him more wrong in that regard. Because while he was brutal and unforgiving with the zombies, he was the complete opposite with those he cared about, and Nick felt lucky to fall within that group.

When Ellis was satisfied that he had double and triple checked enough times over, he tip-toed back downstairs.

"There's a few up there, but the safe house is right across the street. Uh..." He looked at Nick's wound again, the bleeding was slightly slowing but not stopping, then back to his paling face. He appeared weak. "D'you want me to carry you?"

Nick laughed, the sound echoing through the subway tunnel before he forced himself to be quiet. "Really?" He asked with a grin.

"Yeah! I mean, I _could_ , I'm strong enough..."

"I'll give you that, you probably are," Still rather amused, Nick decided not to argue about that subject. They hadn't exactly been fed well at the CEDA camp, seeing as food was getting rarer to find, and acquiring it meant CEDA workers going out on dangerous supply runs. Yet when fewer and fewer people returned from these trips, a decision was made to more or less stop them, and the weakened security is what made the camp become so easily overrun.

Nick had been losing weight from the lack of eating and amount of excercise he'd been doing, and now he was getting noticeably more gaunt. Ellis had shifted what little fat he had on his body, and wasn't getting thinner but stronger. His muscle mass was ever increasing, so Nick didn't doubt and didn't want to admit that Ellis could pick him up and carry him.

"My legs work fine, though, kid. Let's just get there."

Getting to the safe room was quick and easy. There were around a dozen infected standing around on the street, and mercifully the majority were looking in different directions. Ellis and Nick were quiet enough to get past, and the few zombies that did notice them were a little too late as the safe house door was bolted before they could get to the pair.

"Lie down there," Ellis said, pointing to a couch in the middle of the room. There was also a table with an abundance of first aid kits and several bottles of water on it, making Ellis internally cheer.

He heard Nick cry out in pain and was over to him in a flash, one of each item in his hands. He knelt on the floor next to the couch and set the water and health kit down.

"What's wrong?" He asked, concerned.

"My back," Nick grunted. "I hit it on the ledge pretty hard when I fell."

"Um... can I take a look? There might be something I can do," Nick nodded. His suit jacket was already off, so he started unbuttoning his shirt, but had some trouble with his sleeves because of how he had to twist his back.

Gingerly, Ellis helped get the other man's arms out of his sleeves. He didn't want Nick to feel helpless, but he did need assistance.

"Ooh, jeez," There was already a large purple bruise on Nick's lower back that looked awfully tender.

"Is it bad?"

"Kinda... no wonder it's so sore. I'll put a bandage over it so it'll have some paddin'." Ellis unzipped the medkit, pulling out one of the bandages and some adhesive tape. Nick sat up and waited while Ellis very delicately held the material over the bruise, careful not to apply any pressure, and ripped lengths of the tape off with his teeth to keep the bandage in place. As he was taping it down, he held the water bottle out to Nick in offering. Nick took it in an instant, glugging some of it down.

"Christ, I never thought water could taste so good." He said breathlessly, handing it back to his friend.

Ellis took a cushion from the twin armchair nearby and placed it by the couch's armrest. "You can lie back now," Nick did, still with a rough groan.

Ellis splashed a bit water on his hands to make them cleaner, then rubbed them dry on his t-shirt.

Taking a small cloth from the first aid kit, Ellis dampened it with some water and started to dab at the blood on Nick's chest. He was hugely attentive, not missing a patch apart from the small dried clumps attatched to some of Nick's chest hairs which may have been painful to get rid of, so he left them.

With that finished, Ellis washed and dried the cloth as best as he could just using the water before ringing it out. He then poured most of the small bottle of disinfectant, that he found in the medkit, onto the cloth.

"This'll sting a bit." He warned.

"I know. I've done this enough times." Nick replied, with a hint of a smile.

Ellis then dabbed at and around the wound, apologising to every wince and sharp intake of breath Nick made. Eventually he became more used to the stinging sensation and just watched as the kid healed him up. Over time, he'd gotten a lot better at using the first aid kits. To begin with he'd been quite clumsy and hadn't really known what to do, although admittedly many of those times they'd been in a rush, so Nick couldn't blame him. However as Ellis got to using them more often, his skills improved, particularly when in safe houses when they had some time to patch themselves up. And Ellis did take his time, but it was ultimately worth it as he was a good healer.

Nick hadn't realised as Ellis was applying the bandages, making sure every last part of the wound was sterilised and covered. He then held up Nick's bloody, slightly torn shirt. "D'you want this?"

"Nah. I'll wait until the blood's dried, at least," He yawned, turning, with some difficulty, into a better position for sleep. He was tired regardless, but the painkillers he took earlier were making him even more sleepy. "I might just throw my jacket over me. Can you pass it over here?"

"Sure thing," Ellis said, taking the jacket from where Nick had left it in a heap on the floor and passing it back. Nick covered his upper half with it, closing his eyes. "You're gonna be out like a light," Ellis murmured, smiling. He got to his feet and was walking past the couch when Nick stopped him.

"Hey," He said. "Thanks for saving my life, kid. And for fixing me up, too,"

"That's what friends are for," Ellis responded simply.

"Well, I don't know anyone else who'd do all this for me, so I guess we're best buds," Nick replied sleepily. Nick's honesty at telling him he'd had no-one else in his life with Ellis' kindness made him a bit sad, but he was also happy at Nick saying they were best friends.

"I guess we are. But you gotta sleep."

"Yeah, yeah..." Nick said, voice muffled as he turned his face into the arm of the couch, once again closing his eyes.

After a few moments, Ellis went into the bathroom of the safe house in search of bottles of pills or anything else useful in the medicine cabinet. He found some gauze and liquid medicine, which he stuffed into his pockets, just in case.

He then saw a small bar of soap, which gave him an idea. Careful not to disturb Nick's slumber, Ellis crept into the main room, collecting the sleeping man's shirt and the bottle of water he'd opened.

Back in the bathroom, Ellis ran a little water over the blood stains on the shirt over the sink, being mindful to not use too much. There wasn't a lot left in the bottle, and he didn't want to open another because he felt it would be a waste. Using the soap, Ellis scrubbed at the stain while periodically pouring more water on it. It was satisfying seeing the blood come out then wash away, and even while Ellis realised it wasn't going to be a great job, it was better than before and would be a nice surprise for Nick.

When the bottle was empty, Ellis squeezed and twisted the fabric to get most of the water out, then put it on the towel rail where he hoped it'd be bone dry by morning.

Returning to the main room, he flopped down onto the armchair, his legs feeling achy when the weight was taken off them. Throwing his cap on the floor, he let his eyes tip back and eyes shut, finding sleep, accompanied with thoughts of what the hell they were gonna do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please let me know what you think! Obviously I'll only continue if you guys want me to, so feedback is very much appreciated.  
> I also put violence as an archive warning just as a precaution, I don't think it's too graphic but it may increase in future chapters.  
> Just for fun/no particular reason, I was thinking of adding in the notes at the end of each chapter a song or two which I feel either go well with the chapter, or perhaps gave me some inspiration while writing it. You can just totally ignore them if you want!  
> The songs for this chapter are, 1) Standing at the Station, and 2) You're the Doctor, both by Ty Segall.  
> Thank you for reading!


	2. Close Encounters

Nick awoke with a jolt, subconsciously thinking something strange must have occurred to enable him to sleep so soundly for so long. He propped himself up on his elbows, forgetting about his sore chest wound, subsequently feeling the familiar touch of pain strike through him for another time. He blinked a few times, recollecting the day before's memories. Then Ellis spoke and he remembered how he'd come to be safe, and more importantly, alive.

"Hi there, sleepy-head," Nick looked round and the younger man was sat in the armchair, idly fiddling with his gun. "I was wonderin' when you'd come around,"

Nick sat up properly and the bandage on his chest caught his eye as the white material had turned mostly red overnight from the leaking cut.  
"I'll change that for you if ya want," Ellis added.

"How long was I asleep?" Nick asked, hoping he hadn't slept in too late as they preferred to travel in daylight as much as possible.

"Not sure. Quite a while, I'm guessin'. I've been awake... I don't know, probably a couple hours,"

"Ah, shit," Nick said, putting his head in his hands. Even though he had just slept for perhaps twelve hours, he was still tired. It seemed like even while he was sleeping he was losing sleep, and they needed to catch up on a lot, otherwise the fatigue would catch up on them. But he regretted losing precious sunlight and travelling time. "You should've woken me up," He told Ellis, although chose his tone carefully so it didn't seem like he was blaming the kid.

"Now why would I do that? I ain't gonna ruin the best sleep you've had in months just so we can get back into danger quicker,"

"Good point," Nick admitted.

"Besides, we can stay here for another night if we have to,"

"We _should_ really keep going..."

"Either way, we're gonna need supplies. I found this..." He reached to the floor next to the armchair and held up a backpack, "... to carry shit like food and ammo in."

"Alright. We'll look around the houses up the street and around the block."

During the night, Nick's jacket had fallen off of him as a result of his tossing and turning, so he picked it up, patting off the dust it had attracted from the dirty floor.

"Hey, sport, where's my shirt?"

Ellis grinned brightly and told Nick to wait for a minute before going into another room. Nick sat there bemusedly, wondering what the kid was up to. He didn't have time to think about it, because Ellis is soon back standing in front of him, holding out the blue shirt proudly. Nick scooted forward on the seat, taking the garment and seeing that it was much cleaner than it had been for a long while.

"You washed this?"

"Sure did! I was thinkin' that it wasn't gunna dry in time. I been checkin' it every five minutes,"

Nick just looked up at him, shaking his head and smiling. When he thought Ellis couldn't get any more thoughtful, he pulls this out of the bag.

"Ellis... thank you. Really. But you know you don't have to, I mean, laundry is the least of our troubles right now-"

"I wanted to. At least now you won't have blood on it. Well, any of your blood, anyway,"

Nick slipped the shirt on though he didn't button it up, leaving it hanging off his shoulders. He still felt drained from the day before and that wasn't helped by the fact that he was incredibly hungry and lacking in energy. He needed sugar, vitamins, calories... anything to stop the light-headedness making him dizzy, and his empty stomach aching. He expected Ellis to be in a similar situation, yet of course the good-mannered mechanic wouldn't say anything. They both had enough on their plate (actually, nothing at all) without Ellis thinking he was adding to their worries by complaining about his hunger.

"I'll put a new bandage on ya before we go," Ellis proposed again, taking the last few bandages from the health kit he had already opened.

"No, no. You've done everything for me. Making me feel like an old man,"

"Yeah, but..." Ellis said, taking a seat next to him. "I am better at this than you." He smirked.

"Alright then, _Mr. Modesty_ , show me what you got." Nick challenged.

The conman would never had admitted to how intently he watched Ellis as the younger man took care of him for yet another time. His brows furrowed and he was poking out the tip of his tongue in concentration, trying to keep a steady hand and make sure the wound kept clean. The last thing they'd want would be for the laceration to go septic.

For Nick it was heartwarming, really, for someone to have so much consideration for his wellbeing. He knew that Ellis simply enjoyed taking care of people, however Nick still hadn't figured out what he'd done to deserve such a good friend.

Ellis patted the new dressing gently when he was finished. " All done," He beamed. "We should get a move on, though,"

"Okay," Nick agreed, forcing himself to his feet and thanking God for small mercies when he could at least keep himself balanced. He buttoned his shirt up then put his jacket on.

Ellis was putting the water bottles and a couple of the first aid kits into the backpack, but threw one of the medkits over to the older man.

"In case we get split up," He explained, zipping the bag shut, slipping his arms through the straps and hoisting it onto his back. "I don't wanna be hoggin' all the first aid," He watched Nick for a few seconds as he readied himself to leave. "You sure yer up for this? We don't know how bad it could be out there-"

"What are you talking about? Those candy asses aren't gonna take me down."

When they opened the other door leading out of the safe room, the warmth was the first thing to hit them. There was no doubt that it was midday, judging by how high the sun was in the sky and the intensity of the heat it was giving off. Nick immediately closed the door again, taking off his jacket _again_ before balling it up and stuffing it in the backpack. Ellis wasn't overly bothered by the heat, he was more tolerant to higher temperatures than Nick, who wasn't fond at all- especially when he was wearing a suit. He rolled up his sleeves then opened the door, gripping his baseball bat.

The door led to an alleyway that ran along the end of the backyards belonging to a long row of houses. As far as they could see, the alley was empty, making Nick a little less tense, nonetheless still keeping on his toes.

"Remember, we gotta try to be silent," He told Ellis, voice low. "You check the houses on the left, I'll check the right. Look for ones with closed doors since it's less likely there'll be any zombies in there. Remember, we're looking for guns and food,"

"In that order?"

"We gotta take them in whatever order we find them."

The pair crept along the alleyway, pacing themselves as they peered over the fences at either side. On a few occasions there were infected in the yards they looked into, making them duck down quickly and move more stealthily. There were very few houses with back doors that appeared to be intact, so they had slim pickings when it came to supposedly safer places to search. Fortunately, the fences were not picketed, so when the two found somewhere acceptable they could easily climb over without needing a boost from the other.

In the yard, Ellis snuck over to the patio doors and slid them open, thankful they didn't have to break in and cause any noise, but also fearful of what could be lurking in the unlocked house.

He stepped in, treading carefully, or as carefully as he could in his heavy work boots, checking behind every corner and space in which infected could be hidden.

They were in a large living room, wherein one of the walls had a wide archway in it, which was the entrance to the kitchen. Nick jerked his head in that direction and Ellis nodded; Nick then took one long stride through the arch, glad there wasn't a door to open that'd give away their position, and checked both sides as he entered the kitchen, his bat raised and ready to swing. He did a quick sweep of the room, even checking under the dinner table. "It's clear." He called to Ellis quietly. The younger man joined him, taking off the backpack and setting it down on the table.

"Start looking for supplies. I'm just gonna check upstairs," He whispered.

"Are you sure? Don't want me to come with you?" Nick frowned.

"It's only up there, can't be too many in a few rooms," Nick was still unsure. "Anything happens that I can't handle, I'll holler,"

"And I'll come running."

Ellis smiled. "I know."

The Southerner was starting to hate stairs, which was saying something, as he didn't really hate anything other than zombies. But stairs were being added to that single item list. He hated how ominous they were when standing at the foot of them, looking up into that unknown. How every stair seemed to creak painfully loudly in the silence. How it felt when he finally reached the top and realised he was in that darkness, in that unknown, amongst whatever hidden dangers there could be.

There were three rooms he could see when he got to the landing. All doors were closed, hence the lack of sunshine getting inside.

Another thing Ellis hated: closed doors, especially those that he had to get through. Only with the exception of safe houses.

He went to the nearest door and turned the doorknob, only to find that it was locked, which freaked him out slightly. He considered putting his axe through the door so he could get in, although on second thought he didn't know if he actually wanted to see what was beyond those few inches of wood.

The next room he could access, and it revealed what he was dreading to see. There was only a singular infected there, undisturbed by Ellis' presence until he went in, his foot landing unintentionally heavily. It turned around and looked at him accusingly before it made a grating, high pitched sound and charged towards him. As if he was programmed to do so, Ellis instinctively swung his axe back before bringing it forward easily. The sharp weapon sliced into its neck like a knife through butter, and its decapitated head hit the floor, its body following a second after. The thumps travelled through the house and Nick's voice called out.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm good!" Ellis reassured, wiping off some blood that had splattered on his face. From where he was standing, he could tell there wouldn't be much at all to scavenge. The room was basic: a bed that had been stripped of its linen, leaving only the worn looking mattress on the frame; along with a large wardrobe, a bedside table, and a desk which held a small TV.

He searched the wardrobe but all that was inside was a couple of dresses, and several items of children's clothing. In the drawer of the bedside table was a packet of pills, and a closer inspection of the desk showed nothing other than a thick layer of dust.

The next door was unlocked and led to a bathroom which had stains of dried blood on the floor and tiled walls. He searched the medicine cabinet, where inside there were some tubes of different creams amongst other things. He didn't know what they might need further down the line, so grabbed all of it and went back downstairs.

On the table, Nick had laid out all of the canned food he'd found, and there was quite a bit more than they'd both been expecting. There was canned fruit and other food such as sweetcorn, beans, and soup.

"Awesome!" Ellis said, putting his findings on the table next to Nick's. "D'you want anything in particular, or...?"

"No, you can have first choice. I still owe you for saving me from being ripped up by the witch,"

Ellis took one of the tins of baked beans, Nick then handing him a can opener as well as a spoon.

"Thank you," Ellis said, taking a seat and opening the tin. He almost scooped out and wolfed down half the contents in one go, chuckling with his mouth full as some of the bean juice dripped onto his chin. Nick laughed softly and helped himself to the same meal as Ellis.

It was like their taste buds had died and come back to life, the flavour was so incredible that Nick didn't know just how they coped so long without any good food. Ellis had expected that once he started eating he wouldn't be able to stop, while on the contrary he felt full up quickly. Once he was done, he sat back in his chair and revelled in the feeling.

Nick was sifting through what Ellis had found when he held up a small plastic bottle, inside it a clear substance. "Lube?" He questioned, smirking. He wasn't going to mention it at first, but he couldn't resist seeing the kid's reaction. Ellis just looked on in shock, a light blush tinting his cheeks as he searched for an explanation.

"I-I, er, just grabbed everything there, I didn't really, y'know, look at what it was-"

"Calm it, Ellis," Nick interrupted, snorting out a laugh. "I know, I'm only teasing ya."

Ellis tried his best to cast disapproving glares at Nick, but that simply made Nick more amused. Soon, however, the contagious effect of Nick's laughter worked on Ellis, who found himself joining in, and they laughed like everything was okay, like they were all that mattered.

~

Nick and Ellis waited for the peak midday temperature to lower before continuing further. They sat happily, and Ellis told Nick a story of how Keith once had to break into his own house and his parents thought he was burglar, so his mom sprayed him with mace and his dad threatened him with a gun. Nick actually paid attention, for it had been a while since Ellis had told one of his tales- it was like the old, more hopeful version of him had come back, since he'd changed a bit when they got taken to the CEDA camps. Not that the kid wasn't optimistic anyway, but the disappointment and general feeling of "that's it?" after all they'd fought through understandably made his view bleak.

Both of them were in a good mood, mostly from having full stomachs, making them feel refreshingly energised. They agreed to save some of their provisions for Coach and Rochelle, in the circumstance that they hadn't been as lucky when finding supplies. All they needed now was to find some guns.

The alleyway was no longer empty by the time they returned. A small number of infected had wandered there and took Nick by surprise as he climbed back over the fence, but he got rid of them with no difficulty.

The route to the nearest safe room was less trialling than the last, as it mainly consisted of side streets not as densely populated as main roads, and back alleys. The latter was relatively safe since there were usually canopies of overgrown trees and foliage shielding them overhead, where infected such as hunters and smokers tended to lurk. They kept their eyes and ears open for any chargers nearby.

They passed several housing estates, some of them rather upper class; but they could tell even from the outside they'd all been ransacked, presumably when the outbreak started, by people who cared more about looting than securing their safety.

Next to one of these estates was a small, inconspicuous house. It wouldn't have piqued Ellis' and Nick's interest had they not seen the barbed wire at the top of the fences surrounding it, and usually that would have been indication enough for them to stay the hell away, nevertheless looking over, the house seemed untouched and empty of infected.

"Wanna go over there?" Nick asked.

"Sure, but how're we gonna without gettin' all cut up?" To answer, Nick reached up and put his baseball bat through a loop of the wire, then started yanking down, hoping that with enough force it would detach. Ellis added to the effort, doing the same with the handle of his axe; their combined strength soon made the wire become loose and fall to the ground.

Even though this fence was taller than the previous one they'd vaulted, they threw their weapons over the top, and pulled themselves up and over with ease. On the other side, things became intriguing when amid the thick, tall grass they noticed a pathway leading shallowly underground. It was only when they stood in front of it they saw that it was some kind of fallout shelter, concealed well by the unkempt plants.

"Guess one of those impending apocalypse nuts actually got it right for once," Nick muttered.

"D'ya think they're in there?" Ellis questioned.

"Why don't you find out?"

"What, d'ya mean just knock on the front door?"

Nick shrugged. "Seems the logical thing to do."

Ellis walked the short path, kicking away the weeds winding around his shoes. He got to the door and looked around to Nick, feeling almost silly, but he was urged on by the other man. He sighed, then hesitantly tapped his knuckles on the metal.

"Hello? Anyone home?" He called, and Nick held back a chuckle. But when the sound of a body slamming into the door made Ellis recoil in shock, he was quickly at the younger man's side, ready to attack.

"The door's unlocked," Ellis told him, he'd seen a gap between it and the frame just before the creature inside had become aware of him.

"You open it, I'll take care of that thing," Ellis gripped the handle with both hands, waiting for Nick's signal. The snarling noises from the bunker were getting angrier and Nick nodded, leading Ellis to pull open the door and set the zombie loose.

"Hey there, gorgeous," Nick joked before the solid wood of his baseball bat connected with the side of its head, knocking it down, but it wasn't dead. He brought down the bat a couple more times, caving in the skull, parts of its brain being mashed in within the dirt.

The shelter was a small, one room set-up, which had unmade bunk beds that looked like they'd been used recently. There was a cupboard holding even more food they could have, so they took as much as they could cram in the backpack.

Ellis found a large gun bag on the floor under the bottom bunk, and the pair of them realised they'd hit the jackpot; the fully loaded shotguns, assault rifles, and sniper rifles complete with silencers and laser sights were like a God send.

"Woah... _shit_!" Ellis exclaimed happily, taking out a combat shotgun, getting the feel for it again. "Oh man, this is cool,"

"Good find, kid," Nick said, choosing to go with the assault rifle. He continued to fumble through the bag until he found what else he was searching for. He pulled out a shiny, like-new magnum pistol and smiled triumphantly. " _Nice_ ,"

"I wonder why it was just open like that?" Ellis pondered aloud, not understanding how the place hadn't been stripped bare of supplies already.

Nick couldn't think of an answer straight away. "Hmm... maybe someone tried to trap that zombie in here, couldn't lock it from the outside?" He suggested.

"Why'd they do that?"

"I don't know, I think I'm too used to weird shit now to ask questions." Ellis understood that. He was just grateful that the last human in the shelter had left the guns.

On the wall of the main house outside, Nick saw some graffiti that made his heart sink a bit, and made sure Ellis didn't see. In hurried writing, it read, " _PLEASE DONT GO IN BUNKER PLEASE DONT KILL HER_ ".

He didn't look back at the corpse on the ground before they left.

~

Ellis hated chargers. He hated how they were somehow able to sense when he was at his most vulnerable, like when he and Nick were so close to a safe house, fighting off a sudden horde, and he had to reach into the gun bag they'd taken from the shelter to retrieve ammo for his shotgun. He cursed how the shells seemed to drain in such a short time, making a mental note to carry ammo in his pockets, but when he looked back up, the hugely mutated infected was charging at him. Its oversized arm was reaching out and grabbed Ellis as it sprinted past, carrying him hundreds of yards away from Nick, who was still trying to deal with the zombies around him.

The charger stopped in its tracks and threw Ellis into the air like a rag doll before slamming him down onto the concrete.

"Jesus Christ! _Nick_! Help, pl-" Ellis' words were knocked out of him as the charger kept on smacking his body down. With each time that it raised him, he tried to fight back, feebly attempting to push it away. After many repeated smashes, however, his arms dangled limply in the air, too weak to fight back.

Somewhere in the fogginess of his mind he wondered if this was the end, that perhaps Nick had been caught by a smoker or a jockey and they were done for.

That possibility was becoming a lot more likely when what sounded like a whole magazine of bullets embedded in the charger's back, stuttering its actions until its death grip finally loosened and let Ellis go, its body falling next to him. Nick helped him to his feet, wrapping an arm around the younger man's back, who draped his arm over Nick's shoulder as he limped on.

"The safe house is right here," Nick soothed. "I'm sorry, Ellis, I-"

"Don't," Ellis insisted, voice strained. "It ain't your fault."

There wasn't much that could be done for Ellis' injuries, as they were less cuts and scrapes, but more bruises and a general soreness that couldn't exactly be healed with a first aid kit, rather with time and rest.

Unfortunately with this safe room there wasn't a couch or a bed that Ellis could use, therefore Nick found some old sleeping bags and set them up as best as he could so Ellis had something soft to lie on. He sat on them with his back against the wall, and Nick knelt in front of him and opened the medkit he was carrying. At some point during the ordeal Ellis had skinned his arm, and he flinched when Nick asked him to hold it out so he could get a better look at it. He gently sterilised the wound, making sure that all the dirt and grit was removed. He was holding up Ellis' arm by the wrist as he put the bandages on the broken skin, and noticed that the mechanic's pulse was faster than normal.

"You alright there, sport?" Nick asked, moving to sit next to him.

"Yeah, yeah, it's just... well, I could'a died back there," He breathed.

Nick spoke hesitantly. "I know... and I'm sorry. But you're safe now, right?" He reassured the other man, patting his knee. "That sorta thing has happened to you quite a bit, I thought you were, I don't know... almost used to it," Nick knew that what he was saying didn't sound great, but it was the best he could come up with.

"I am, but not like this. And I'm not scared of dyin' just 'cos I don't wanna die. I'm scared of dyin' because of you. If I go, then you'll be alone, and-" He stopped to breathe in shakily. The words had come out quickly, but got more difficult to say as the thought of Nick possibly dying because Ellis was no longer there hit him.

Nick carefully put his arm across Ellis' shoulders in an attempt to comfort him. "Don't think like that. I admit, that was a pretty close call, I let you down. We were unprepared and that was unexpected, but I won't let anything like that happen to you again-"

"It ain't me I'm worried about," Ellis mumbled before looking up at him. Nick held the gaze for a moment, maybe two, searching the kid's eyes. He showed all of his emotions through them, they could sparkle with joy or shimmer with sadness or worry, like they were right then.

"I won't let anything happen to either of us. Okay? We're gonna get through all this."

Ellis nodded, smiling at him. A second passed, and he took off his cap, then rested his head on Nick's shoulder. Nick didn't try to stop him, in fact he shifted so he was in a better position. He put his cheek against the rarely-seen mop of curls that was Ellis' hair, and Ellis took the chance to put his arm across Nick's torso, pulling him into something akin to a hug. Nick didn't say or do anything to stop it, just silently allowed it to happen. He didn't have the heart not to, and it wasn't as if the situation was awkward or uncomfortable. It was obviously what Ellis needed, probably had been needing for a while, and Nick couldn't deny he'd been wanting some kind of closeness, too. Because everyone needs a hug now and then.

Listening to Nick's regular heartbeat helped to calm Ellis, and he soon felt sleep pulling at his eyelids, yawning as he nestled into Nick's upper chest, around his collar bone.

"G'night, Nick." He said softly.

"'Night, kid."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed reading this, more to come soon!  
> The song for this chapter is Sad Fuzz by Ty Segall.


	3. Closer Encounters

Ellis dreamed most times he slept, although he rarely recalled what they were about. This was mainly because his dreams were nothing extraordinary, and more often than not the subject of them was based on his everyday life: family, friends, work.

When the infection began, the nightmares did too and their vividness, on occasion, led Ellis to think they were real until the moment he awoke. Thankfully, they soon faded away as he feared the infected less with each day he spent fighting them, and also because of the safety and comfort he felt from being in a strong group with three others who he'd trust his life with. However that night the nightmares returned, and they were more realistic than ever before. He had several very brief dreams, more like flashes of events that he dreaded happening, like a slideshow of horrors and he couldn't close his eyes. The final dream was longer, and repeated the attack of the day before, only this time his and Nick's roles were reversed.

Nick had been grabbed by the charger and was being carried away by it at a speed that Ellis was sure couldn't be possible considering the size of the thing. There were zombies swarming around Ellis, who was fighting back desperately, trying to clear a path so he could get to his best friend. But no matter how fast he ran or how hard he tried, Nick just got taken further and further away, all the while yelling at Ellis for help. And even though he was what seemed like miles away, his cries of agony rang in Ellis' ears as he continued running, taking down everything in his path.

Then Nick's yells stopped abruptly, and so did Ellis, frozen in fear of what may have happened. He saw the charger drop his friend and turn towards him, and just as it charged at him he woke up.

"Everything good, fireball?" Nick asked softly as Ellis' head jerked up from his chest. Despite his shaky breathing and pounding heart, he was extremely relieved to see Nick was safe.

"Uh... yeah," He sat up and rubbed his face with his hands.

"Sure?" Nick questioned, as the kid was slightly teary-eyes. "You were mumbling in your sleep. Bad dream?"

"Bad dream." Ellis confirmed. Nick understood, deciding not to ask anymore; it had obviously been quite an intense one so he didn't want to press him into talking about what happened.

"I used to have pretty bad nightmares when all this started," Nick admitted.

"I didn't know that," Ellis replied.

"That's 'cause I never told anyone," He smiled. "Stopped me from sleeping sometimes,"

"How come ya didn't say anything?"

Nick shrugged. "Just didn't."

Ellis felt reassured to know that tough guy Nick also suffered from night terrors, even if he did keep it to himself, until that point.

"How're you feeling?" Nick said, gently taking Ellis' arm and inspecting the bandage.

"Sore," Ellis answered, the scrape on his arm stinging as he moved.

"Hold on," Nick got up and found the backpack, rooting through for some pain pills. He handed them to Ellis, as well as a bottle of water. "These should take the edge off," Ellis swallowed a few of the capsules, and kept the rest with him for later.

"Thanks," He said gratefully.

"D'you want something to eat?" Nick offered. Ellis thought for a moment before shaking his head.

"Nah, I'm good for now. We should probably ration it or somethin',"

"Yeah, but you need to keep your strength up too," Nick continued, putting the bag next to him in case he changed his mind. "I'm gonna have another look around, see if there's anything worth grabbing."

The safehouse had a couple of other rooms that were empty apart from a chest of drawers in one of them; he slid each drawer open and found a pipebomb in the bottom one. Then he dragged the chest away from the wall to check behind it, and amongst all the dust and cobwebs he noticed a surprisingly intact box of cigarettes, and crammed inside of it was a smaller box of matches. He slipped them into his pocket and pushed the chest back in place.

Meanwhile, Ellis had opened a can of fruit and eaten half, but saved the rest for Nick, who was just coming back in the room.

"Find anything?"

"Pipebomb," Nick said, sitting nearby to him on the floor again. "And a pack of smokes,"

"Ah, I always guessed you were a smoker,"

"Well, smoker in the sense that I like to smoke, not in the sense that I have a hundred foot long tongue..." He smirked.

"Har, har," Ellis replied, deadpan. "You know what I mean,"

"Yeah, I'm just messin' with you," Nick chuckled, taking a cigarette and the matches from the packet. "Usually I'm more of a cigar man, but I gotta take what I'm given nowadays," He placed the filter between his lips. "D'you mind?"

"You go right ahead, don't let me stop you," Ellis flashed a smile. Of course he didn't mind.

"Thanks, kid." Nick said, striking the match and lighting the cigarette, taking small puffs while the smoke floated around him. He felt a small cough rising in his throat but he swallowed it down, taking another drag. It had been a while since he'd last smoked, and if he was honest it wasn't the same, although it was enough to give some semblance of normality, to bring back some fond memories of how life was before.

"Can I try?" He heard Ellis ask timidly.

"You sure?" Nick said and Ellis shrugged. "Okay..." He leaned over and Ellis took the cigarette from between his fingers, imitating how Nick held it. "Have you ever smoked before?"

"No. Might as well try, though, huh?" Ellis said, and Nick assumed that was his sensitive way of saying that he could die today, so it didn't really matter anyway.

Nick watched Ellis tuck the cigarette in his lips and inhale perhaps too deeply for his first time, trying to take it in his lungs, which resulted in a string of spluttering coughs. He held in a chuckle as Ellis urgently tried to give the cigarette back, arm held out as he turned his head and coughed into his shoulder.

"Jesus," He wheezed, searching for a bottle and taking down a large gulp of water. "Christ, that burns. How can you like that?" He said, the back of his throat feeling rougher each time he coughed.

"You get used to it," He explained, taking a few more puffs, but then making a face. "But I know what you mean. These aren't the best." He ground the cigarette down to a stub on the floor, making sure it was extinguished. The smoky smell lingered in the air, causing Ellis to cough again.

"Great, now my throat's sore, too," Ellis mumbled quietly, though he still didn't sound like he was complaining.

"Where's it hurt?"

"Pretty much everywhere," Ellis answered with a faint smile. "But mostly my back." Nick looked like he was juggling some thoughts around in his head, then pushed up onto his knees and gestured with his hand.

"Turn around," He instructed. Ellis did so, crossing his legs and then scratching the back of his head nervously.

"What're ya doin'?" He asked when Nick shuffled over to him and placed his hands on his shoulders.

"Just seeing if I can help you. Relax." Ellis tried to, not realising that he was tense, and then straightened his back so he wasn't hunched over. "Where does it hurt the most?"

Ellis reached over his shoulder and indicated towards his upper back. "All 'round there."

"Alright." Nick said, sitting back on his heels.

Ellis was feeling sheepish and a little embarrassed as a result of the attention. As Nick's hands slid over to his back, he instinctively tensed up again, before reminding himself that if Nick didn't find it awkward, neither should he. But it was so _strange_. This was Nick, and he was giving him what could only be described as a massage, but there was no denying that it felt nice. Especially when he kneaded his knuckles into the sorest points, giving a dull sense of pain which was soon overridden by a following soothing feeling. He couldn't tell if Nick was particularly skilled as he'd never had a massage before, but he would assume that he was because of the immediate relief .

"You, uh... do this a lot, then?" Ellis wondered.

Nick smiled. "You could say that. I've got my share of useless talents."

"I wouldn't say it's so useless right now..." Ellis murmured, his head dropping forward, eyes closing as he let himself enjoy this and forget everything else.

Nick pressed his thumbs into the part of Ellis' back in between his shoulder blades, rubbing them in a circular motion, making Ellis to release a low, quiet groan. Nick's hands stilled and he swallowed hard, wondering if he'd made the noise on purpose or if it just slipped out without him realising; he wasn't sure which he'd prefer. Ellis noticed the halt in his actions and turned his head slightly.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine," Nick said quickly, starting to rub Ellis' back again. "Got lost in my thoughts."

Ellis nodded knowingly and faced forward, closing his eyes. As the soreness and tension seemed to be lifted from Ellis' body by Nick's healing hands, there was an unspoken, mutual kind of _heat_ between the two of them, that neither of them dared to mention. But both of them knew that it was there, and whatever it was, it was causing Nick's breath to catch a little whenever Ellis made a noise because of what he was doing.

He tried his best to ignore how he was reacting, by instead solely focusing on making Ellis feel better and _not_ on _his_ reactions. Because the faster he was healed, the faster they could get back on the road.

Then he noticed goosebumps trailing up the kid's arms and decided he couldn't continue much longer. He gave him a few more minutes, during which he didn't let his eyes rest on anything other than the back of Ellis' t-shirt, and blocked out all noise that wasn't fully coherent sentences.

Nick pulled his hands away almost reluctantly and cleared his throat. "That feel better?" He asked as Ellis twisted around.

"Sure does! Thanks a lot, man," He smiled brightly, stretching out. "I feel better already. _Shit_ , yer good at that." As Ellis stretched, Nick noticed a patch of discoloured skin on the side of his neck.

"Hang on," He murmured as he leaned towards him, inspecting closer to work out if it needed patching up. Ellis tilted his head so the skin was easier to see. Nick observed the mark carefully, checking for any other scratches or scrapes nearby. "No, it's just a love bite," Nick teased with a smirk. "You got a zombie girlfriend I don't know about?"

Ellis was about to come back with his own quip, but Nick's hot breath on his neck caused an involuntary, very obvious shiver to course through his body, a small gasp also escaping his lips. With the hairs on his arms standing on end, he sat frozen in embarrassment, and fear of what was to happen next. Nick was also still, and Ellis wished for him to move or do or say _something_ to put him out of his misery.

"That should be fine," Nick said regarding the small bruise, his voice sounding slightly different to a few seconds earlier. He got to his feet and walked to the table on which he'd placed the gun bag, searching through it aimlessly, busying himself with nothing in particular. He didn't say anything, felt like he _couldn't_ say anything as he was considering the possibility that perhaps it didn't happen, or his mind was blowing it way out of proportion. It was such a small, insignificant thing to have happened, but it just seemed so much more. Nick shook his head and mentally told himself to pull it together; it probably hadn't crossed Ellis' mind, he would instead be thinking about important matters other than whatever the hell that... moment between them was. He heard Ellis get up and approach him so he carried on his façade of looking busy.

"Nick..." Came the tentative voice from behind him.

"Mm-hm?" Nick replied, and Ellis touched his arm so he would turn to face him.

"I, uh... wanted to say thanks," He said, ducking his head slightly, like he was shy, while idly scratching the palm of his hand. "For, you know, fixin' me up and takin' care of me, rubbin' my back," Ellis still wasn't wearing his hat, meaning his face wasn't hidden, and Nick could've sworn that he was blushing. "So, thank you Nick," He said, looking up briefly to smile at him. What was up with the kid?

"It was the least I could do," Nick replied, watching him. It was quite endearing how Ellis was acting so unusually coy. In an impulsive moment, he tucked two fingers under Ellis' chin, tilting his head up. They studied each other's eyes for a long second. And that was when Nick brought his head forward, his lips meeting Ellis'. The kiss was dry-lipped and one-way because Ellis was too stunned to form any kind of response. Nick gave it a few seconds, taking it as a good sign that Ellis hadn't recoiled, but the lack of reciprocation also concerned him, to the point where he pulled away, fearing he'd got it terribly wrong. But those worries soon dissolved when Ellis blindly followed Nick's lips once they'd detached from his own.

Nick looked at Ellis and grinned, and Ellis smiled back with the sparkle in his eyes. Their lips met again in an instant, and it took all of Nick's willpower to take it slower than he usually did. He put a hand on the back of the Ellis' head, fingers tangling in the curls, while the other arm went across his lower back.

Nick couldn't hold off using his tongue for too long though, and was soon attempting to deepen the kiss. Ellis didn't have much knowledge in the art of kissing, however it was obvious Nick did, therefore he naturally let him take the lead while he tried to get his brain to catch up with his racing heart.

He opened his mouth wider and Nick's tongue immediately plunged inside, taking Ellis by surprise, and the ferocity being displayed by the older man was making a fire burn throughout his body- which was being pushed backwards and manoeuvred until his back hit a wall. He was taking large inhalations through his nose, as Nick was rarely breaking apart their lips to come up for air himself, not that Ellis minded. Nick wasn't holding back much at all, it had been so _long_ , and he'd felt such a surge when Ellis kissed back he almost couldn't control himself.

Never more than when Ellis' hands trailed down his sides and rested on his hips, his intentions nothing but innocent, nevertheless it still goaded Nick on. He leaned closer until their bodies were pressed firmly together, and it was the first time in what seemed like years that they'd had that kind of proximity with something not infected and trying to kill them.

Ellis was a good learner; he felt what Nick did with his tongue, and tried his best to return the favour. Of course he wasn't the _best_ , although Nick could teach him and with what they had in that moment they still complemented each other well. And Ellis was pretty sure it was the best darn kiss he'd ever had.

Nick finally pulled away, allowing him to level out his breathing while Ellis' chest rose and fell with each deep inhale and exhale. He swallowed hard, swallowing Nick's taste, and looked at him hazily.

"Woah." He eventually said with a chuckle.

"Yeah, woah." Nick concurred.

"What brought that on?" Ellis inquired softly. Nick didn't answer- he wasn't entirely sure himself- and instead rested his forehead on Ellis' and played with the hair he had grasped in his hand. He didn't want to move.

Ellis was rosy-cheeked, his lips wet and swollen; Nick couldn't help but lean in again and place several more kisses on him. His lips trailed across his irresistible jawline before descending on his neck. He started kissing the at the skin before opening his mouth and lightly sinking his teeth in, while his tongue caressed the soft flesh he had claimed.

Ellis choked and cupped the back of Nick's neck with one of his hands, trying to keep him from moving. "Oh, shit... God, Nick..." The man sucking and biting at his neck wanted to hear his name spoken in that breathy tone a lot, _lot_ more. He raised his head and started kissing the younger man for another time, growling hungrily. Ellis welcomed back Nick's warmth and taste, returning the passionate kiss as well as he could.

Soon, Nick grabbed Ellis by the back of his knee, hoisting up his leg so the lower half was pressed against his hip and thigh. To then achieve more contact, he started to grind their pelvises together, making Ellis break the kiss.

"Jesus, Nick, I-I..." He stammered, gathering himself. Nick eased off a bit, letting go of his leg and giving him some breathing space. "I can't right now. I mean, I-I want to, but I just ain't ready," He once again appeared embarrassed, and avoided Nick's eyes as he spoke.

"I understand," Nick said, realising it must have been quite intense for the kid. "I'm sorry, I should've held back-"

"No, no, I like it," Ellis admitted shyly. "But all of this is happenin' real quick, I... just need a little time."

Nick nodded, brushing Ellis' cheek with the back of his hand. It didn't feel like they had much time these days, but if that's what the kid needed, that's what the kid would get.

"We can still kiss, though, right?"

"Of course." Nick replied, grinning into Ellis' mouth as it merged with his own for yet another time.

~

The pair must have woken up in the early hours of the morning, as when they finally decided to leave the safe house, it appeared to only be mid-morning, which was fortunate because it gave them more hours of daylight to travel in. Nick put his jacket back on and carried the bag of supplies, while Ellis had the gun bag, his cap also being placed on its rightful home on his head.

The roads leading away from the safe house were blocked either intentionally or because of huge pile-ups of cars that looked to dangerous to climb over- also as they didn't know what was on the other side. There was a long row of fields that were leading in the direction they were heading, so it seemed the only option that would be viable in getting them where they needed to be. They made their way through the thick layers of trees and shrubbery that bordered the fields. As the leaves were shaken they sprinkled droplets of water over them; it must have rained overnight.

As Nick trudged along the path, mud squelching beneath his shoes and flicking up onto his suit pants which had long since lost their whiteness from dried blood and grime, he felt uneasy. For such a large, open area it seemed much too empty. While that could have been a good sign, they both knew from past experiences this would be the calm before the storm.

"I don't like this," Nick murmured, running his gun's scope along the landscape.

"Me neither," Ellis agreed, taking long strides to avoid the muddiest patches. "This shit's like quicksand."

"Not just that. You hear how quiet it is?"

"Yeah... but maybe somethin' on the streets attracted 'em so they all went there." Ellis suggested.

"Maybe."

After a few minutes, on the other side of the thinning line of trees, there was a chain link fence that gave them a view of one of the blocked streets. Then they understood why it was barricaded.

What looked like no less than fifty infected were shambling around purposelessly, waiting for something to attack. Several parked cars were on the street, and Nick assumed, as he always did, that at least one would be alarmed. Although it wasn't as if that'd be problematic for them either way; they could just slip right past. But, of course, it was never that simple.

On the roof of one building across the street, a boomer had noticed their movement beyond the fence and trees. This instantly enraged the gurgling ball of bile and it waddled towards them, but as infected are unaware of the effects of gravity, it plummeted towards the ground, its bulbous body bursting on impact, spewing a mixture of blood and vomit in all directions. Usually this wouldn't have been a problem and would have gone relatively unnoticed by the zombies. However, the boomer had landed and exploded on an alarmed car, which triggered the shrill siren to pierce through the quiet and alert every infected within hearing distance. They crowded around the vehicle, scraping their fingers on the rusted metal.

Nick thought of it as an opportune moment to run past, but a number of infected that had been sitting in the knee high grass of the field were sprinting towards the wailing alarm.

"Shit. Get down!" Nick said, crouching by a hedge that he hoped would cover the two of them. Ellis followed Nick's lead, kneeling next to the older man, the shins of his coveralls becoming coated in wet mud. Nick wrapped his arm round Ellis' waist, pulling him closer while they waited for the horde to pass. The gesture made Ellis feel that little bit safer as they watched the zombies desperately climb the fence just a few feet in front of them. They could have quite easily got rid of them, but it was best to preserve ammunition, and if there was a choice, they'd choose to be stealthy.

"C'mon, let's go." Ellis whispered, then Nick nodded. They got to their feet and ran by the fence as quickly as they could, past the angry infected, continuing on their journey.

~

The roads eventually cleared and they were soon walking on dry, hard ground. Nick was stopping at every car they came across, rubbing his sleeve on the dirty windows and peering inside.

"What're ya doing?" Ellis had asked after the second instance.

"Checking if the keys are still in the ignition," Nick replied, going to check another car until he realised it only had two wheels.

"Can't'cha hotwire it?"

"You just assuming I could, overalls?" Nick raised an eyebrow, smirking.

"Uh-huh," Ellis said cheekily. "What, are you saying that you _can't_?" He sounded almost as if he was challenging him.

"Of course I can! But that'd mean breaking in, and there might be an alarm." Nick explained.

" _Sure_..." Ellis drawled, walking on. Nick shook his head fondly and followed the younger man.

Spray-painted arrows on walls and sidewalks guided them into a tall building of offices, following the signs up a flight of stairs. Throughout the building, the windows that weren't broken were boarded up with planks of wood, meaning they only got rare bursts of natural light to illuminate the way.

"Why's it leading up here?" Nick said, more to himself, and flicked his flashlight on.

"Could be a safehouse." Ellis scanned the stairwell with the light on his gun, wary of every shadow.

"Fuckin' hope not. It's creepy as hell in here."

Around the twentieth level, the pair couldn't continue their ascent because part of the ceiling had collapsed, so the debris was blocking the path.

"Gotta keep goin'," Ellis told the other man. He pushed open the only unlocked door, the hinges creaking and echoing down the hallway it had given access to. Three unsuspecting zombies had the most part of their heads splattered on the walls in the next few seconds, before their decapitated bodies were kicked to the side and bypassed.

The offices were mostly empty, especially since they were latecomers, any supplies worth having had been scavenged a long time ago. Another part of the ceiling had caved in in the next hallway, however it didn't completely block their pathway this time. Amongst the rubble was broken glass, what looked suspiciously like blood and perhaps a limb or two, and a water pipe that had been ripped from its place.

Nick volunteered himself to go through first to check if it was safe and clear on the other side. He put one foot on the barrier of rubble to hoist his other leg over but it crumbled underneath him.

"Fucking bullshit." He muttered curses as he repositioned himself, swinging his leg over, the other following until the toe of his shoe smacked into the water pipe, dislodging it. What they hadn't realised is that the pipe had been acting as a kind of support, and its movement caused the remainder of the ceiling to collapse, filling up the small gap that appeared to be the only way through.

Ellis was already panicky, he hadn't managed to see if Nick had moved out of the way in time, and couldn't hear anything from the other side. When he called out, the worry was obvious in his voice.

"Nick?" He said loudly before clearing his throat. " _Nick_?"

"Yeah, yeah... I'm okay," He heard Nick answer, and he sighed relievedly. "You good?"

"Just dandy," Ellis replied, slumping against the wall, trying to think. "I gotta find a way round. Just, uh... stay there. I won't be long." He raised his shotgun and held it across his chest, stepping lightly down the corridor.

"Careful out there, kid." Nick called.

"Yeah." Ellis breathed to himself. He peered into a small window pane on a door; it was pitch black inside, and trepidatiously he pushed the door open, shining his flashlight in all corners of the room. Mercifully the storage room was home to no infected, but also no supplies.

The next and only other room along the hallway had its door open, Ellis could tell because of the light spilling in. He side-stepped over, his back to the wall, and stopped at the doorway. He looked slightly around the corner and spotted another doorway directly opposite, leading in the direction where Nick was. That was his way outta there. He just needed to give the room the all-clear. He craned his neck so he'd get a view of the rest of the room, thinking it'd be a clear run.

However, what Ellis did see made it extremely difficult for him to not audibly gasp, or more likely, scream.

He wished it wasn't so instantly recognisable. That huge mass of muscle and incomprehensible strength, its slightly pink-ish colour somehow the most menacing thing imaginable at that moment. Because that colour was just _it_ , and it was terrifying.

The tank had its back to Ellis, it grunted and looked twitchy, ready as it ever would be for a fight. Ellis squeezed his eyes shut tightly, planning his next actions repeatedly and carefully. If he walked slowly and quieter than silence, there was a chance he could slip past, and then he'd be home free.

But when he looked back he could have sworn that the distance to the next doorway had increased by a good few metres. It didn't matter; he needed to get there regardless.

The first couple of steps were the most frightening. His legs felt heavy like lead and it was an effort to move them, but as his foot balanced the threshold they felt wobbly with fear.

Once he was fully inside the room, he kept his lips pressed together, breathing only through his nose in case of any involuntary noises from his throat that he couldn't shut his mouth in time to stop. His eyes were glued to the tank's hunched back, and it seemed to become louder and more active, as it if sensed his presence. Ellis reassured himself, in a way, that if it was aware of him, he'd know too because of the instant pain that would be inflicted upon him.

As he stepped to the side painfully slowly, he could feel his heart beating in his ears, panging like a headache. Part of him just wanted to run and not stop, or hide. He didn't really have much of a choice; it was this or what would be almost certain death.

Ellis felt sick. Physically, he felt weak and dizzy. Mentally, he was sick with worry for Nick and of course Coach and Rochelle, and lastly himself. He feared that he'd never see his friends again, that the last thing he'd see would be the tank's angry face right before it crushes him.

The other doorway was finally within touching distance, and Ellis tightened his sweaty grip on his weapon, making sure not to lose his stealth now that his escape was within his sights.

Slower than a snail, he rounded the corner and quickened his walk until he reached a room with an intact door. He checked inside briefly before sagging down onto the floor and released the breath he didn't realise he was holding in. His body shook and his head hurt from stress, so he rested it on his arms that were folded on top of his knees.

"Shit. Holy fucking shit." Ellis whispered in a shuddering breath. He allowed himself those few still moments to recover before forcing himself to move on.

He had to get through a small number of near-empty rooms before reaching the one where he assumed Nick was. He gripped the handle, attempting to mentally prepare himself for anything, before deciding to bite the bullet and just swing the door open.

Nick was inside, and he pointed his magnum pistol at Ellis when he heard the noise, turning from where he was watching another door. He let his arms drop by his sides when he realised it was his close friend.

"Fuck. Sorry." Nick apologised, putting the gun back in its holster. Ellis only nodded; he was still quite shaken up. "How did it go?"

"Uhm... good, yeah... well, there was a tank," Ellis croaked.

Nick's eyes widened. "A _tank_?! Jesus Christ, where? I didn't even hear anything, how did-"

"I slipped past. It didn't notice me." Ellis told him, looking to the floor.

"Oh, God," Nick commented, stepping nearer to Ellis and gently resting his hands on the younger man's shoulders. "Are you okay?"

"Mm-hm," Ellis hummed, but he relaxed under Nick's touch. "I was just... scared I was gonna die again. But alone this time."

Nick was about to tell him to not say or think things like that but he understood that they had to. They had to address these issues and consider circumstances to everything they did. They couldn't hide from their fears because their fears were their lives.

So Nick nodded in understanding. "I know. And I wish there was something I could say or do to make you feel better. But... I guess we gotta try extra hard to stick together and not get separated, huh?"

"Yeah." Ellis replied, looking up into Nick's eyes.

Nick slid his hand over to Ellis' heart, checking its pace, which only made it beat faster.

"Wait for you to calm down before we get going again," Nick said after feeling the quick thump of Ellis' heart under his palm.

"I think it was only a little quicker just then," Ellis responded.

"Why's that?"

Ellis lowered his head and blushed, not wanting to tell Nick he was the reason for the increased pace of his heart. Although Nick more or less got the message. He cupped the kid's face and stepped in closer again, before closing the distance between their lips. It was gentle with no tongues to begin with, mostly meant to comfort Ellis, yet it was the younger man who took the initiative and deepened the kiss. For something to hold onto, he grabbed the lapels of Nick's jacket, to keep the older man in place. Like Nick would ever want to move anyway.

It didn't seem at all inappropriate in the situation; in fact, it never seemed more appropriate. The threat of death made them thirst for life. And nothing made Ellis feel more alive than being connected to Nick. Ellis understood then why people sometimes had sex after funerals.

Before long, the kiss was getting increasingly intense and Ellis was trying to achieve complete contact, to almost mold their bodies together. He couldn't, and wasn't trying to hold back. He longed for more.

He reluctantly stopped the kiss, wiping his mouth.

"Nick..." He said, breathing the other man's air.

"Ellis."

The mechanic held the conman's gaze for a drawn out moment before he finally spoke.

"I don't think I need any more time."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry for the longer wait for this chapter, I hope it was worth it!  
> The songs for this chapter are "The Connection Man" and "The Man Man", both by Ty Segall.


	4. Gimme Shelter

"Christ, kid, don't tell me you're getting a stiffy right now," Nick responded huskily to Ellis' previous sentence, after a few seconds he took to actually process it.

"Well..." Ellis began, which made Ellis look shocked but also quite turned on himself. Ellis chuckled. "I'm just screwin' with you,"

Nick gulped audibly. "Right. Yeah." He said quickly. He really didn't want to sound desperate, but in all honesty he _was_. He needed Ellis, needed that stress relief, needed to be taken away from the real world for a short while. "Are you sure, though? I mean, with what you were saying a couple of hours ago..." Nick trailed off, hoping Ellis would fill in the blanks. Of course the last thing he wanted was for the kid to change his mind, but he wanted him to be certain, as it could have been a heat of the moment, fleeting statement.  
"Yeah, well, a couple a' hours is somethin', ain't it? And we could'a died in those hours... we can't really waste any more time." Ellis' brush with the tank made him realise that time was a luxury they didn't have, especially when it came to needing to 'think things through'. "Plus, yer no stranger, we've known each other a while, been through all this shit together," He was absent-mindedly fiddling with one of Nick's shirt buttons as he spoke.

"Okay. As long as you're sure that you're ready."

"I'm definitely ready. Now stop makin' me wait." Ellis told him, his tone almost demanding.

Nick raised his eyebrows. "Ooh. Someone's eager."

" _Nick_ , for the love'a Christ..." Ellis whined, voice changing to pleading.

It was tempting to tease a little more, but if truth be told, he was getting as impatient as Ellis. "Let's get moving, then." He announced.

Nick could have been bleeding out, alone, with a horde of infected chasing after him, and he wouldn't have been as desperate to get to the safe house as he was then. He was constantly checking behind him to make sure Ellis was close and safe. They barely spoke, and when they did it was only to warn the other of a zombie heading their way, or to announce that they were reloading.

Ellis felt like he _couldn't_ talk, he could feel the nerves in his stomach tingle and his throat get tighter when he tried, stopping the words. He considered that it could be because, previously in his life, everything sexual had always been spontaneous. He'd never had much time to think about it. Except now he did, and so he missed the spontaneity in a way, because focusing on anything else was proving to be a challenge. He couldn't escape it; Nick was always there in front of him, unintentionally reminding the younger man of what would soon be happening. Not that Ellis had any clue what would happen, what Nick had up his sleeve.

It would be Ellis' first time with a guy, but it wasn't as if that fact changed anything; it was just completely unknown to him. Nick's gender hadn't crossed Ellis' mind once, it didn't seem at all strange because they were both men. It seemed right. They trusted each other with their lives, and Ellis had always liked Nick, but had only found out recently how strong that fondness was.

The signs they followed led them to a window which faced the neighbouring building. A wooden plank which looked less than sturdy connected the builings, and Nick's heart sank, as he knew they'd have to cross it. Also, as it had rained, the fucking thing would be slippery and even more unstable.

"Alright. Fuck." Nick muttered, handing Ellis the bag of supplies. "Can you hold this for a second?"

"Sure," Ellis agreed, swinging the strap over his free shoulder. "Don't'cha want me to go first?" He offered.

"Definitely not." Nick said, with an air of finality. He stepped up onto the plank and crouched as he sweeped off the water that had pooled on the wood. He shuffled forward, not looking down, just keeping his eyes forward. It wasn't as if he was afraid of heights, but he was afraid of falling to his death; especially because it was getting dark and he couldn't see the ground below- instead an unforgiving, black abyss. He didn't even think about the possibility of a smoker just passing by.

Soon Nick reached the other side, helped on by words of encouragement from Ellis. He searched through the room that he stepped into, shooting the only zombie in there with his pistol.

"Okay, throw me the bags!" He called, holding out his hands. Ellis picked up the backpack of supplies and held it over his head with both arms, adjusting his aim. He made sure to use enough force and propelled it across. It landed it Nick's arms, making Ellis sigh in relief before throwing the next one. Then it was his turn to walk the plank.

Ellis crouched just as Nick had done, gripping onto the side of the plank with one hand and holding his gun with the other, taking it one step at a time. Nick was waiting for him at the other end, his arm outstretched. Ellis took him by hand as soon as he could and took the last few steps with more ease. Once Ellis was safely inside, the pair gathered themselves and began their descent of the building.

It had a similar layout to the other building, and the upper levels were more or less empty of infected, but was not lacking in bodies strewn across the floors. What freaked the both of them out was that they mostly couldn't tell the difference between a fully dead zombie or the corpse of an uninfected human. There must have been a lot of survivors passing through before Nick and Ellis.

The lower floors were more populated, but it was nothing the experienced pair couldn't handle. They were still grateful for the suppressors on their guns; because not only was it a lot more low-profile, but it also gave them as much peace of mind as they could get knowing they weren't making a racket and attracting unneccessary attention.

When the two found their way out of the building, Nick shone his flashlight on a smaller building across the one-way street. On the brickwork was a spray-painted arrow pointing to the glass doors that led inside. Nick and Ellis shared a pleased glance before hurrying inside, not even bothering to check the corners. Nick held the safe house door open for the other, then closed it behind the both of them.

The safe house consisted of two rooms: the one they were standing in, which had the door leading out of the house and a table with a pile of ammo and medkits on it; and a smaller bedroom, except there was no bed. Nick sighed.

"Shit, what I'd do these days for a king-sized bed to sleep in... all soft and warm... damn," He groaned, missing the old days of sleeping in luxury hotels. A bed would also be useful at that moment to push Ellis down onto, Nick thought. He'd just have to settle with pushing him against a wall again.

"Maybe one day, huh?" Ellis replied.

"Yeah," Nick said, keeping the door slightly open to let some light in. "And anyway, you're soft and warm, too... you'll do for now." Nick grinned, closing in on him. Ellis chuckled lightly, looking up at the other man's partially illuminated face. He dropped his bag by his feet and Nick did the same, gently kicking them away.

The older man slipped off his suit jacket and threw it over by the bags. He indicated to Ellis' cap.

"The hat?" He asked.

"Take it off." Ellis said croakily, and Nick did so, before thrusting his hand into the thick curls. He nuzzled his nose into the hair, which was dirty and unwashed- but that didn't matter to him. The mechanic's strong musk still powered through, and was definitely an aphrodisiac. He hitched up Ellis' shirt around his stomach, fingertips brushing at the skin while his lips gave hints of kisses by the of his face. The barely-there touches were making Ellis insane, and Nick could tell too because of his shallow, needy breathing.

Nick sweeped his hand down, fingers only just dipping underneath the waistband of his coveralls. Ellis looked down to watch eagerly, nearly whimpering at the contact.

"More?" Nick breathed right into his ear.

"Yeah." Ellis gulped, bringing his hips forward. Nick pulled the tied sleeves around Ellis' waist loose, exposing the kid's boxer shorts. He brushed his knuckles against his crotch, glad to find that he was growing hard already. It was completely understandable, for it must have been a long time since he'd done something like this, and Nick was sure of his own magic touch anyway. He pressed his palm against Ellis' bulge, who then sucked in a breath and squeezed his eyes closed.

Nick couldn't see all too well in the dark, but his eyes had adjusted enough to see that, once he had pulled Ellis' underwear down, he had become fully hard.

"Jesus, fireball," Nick said, then bit his lip as he felt the beginnings of an erection in his pants. He swiped the pad of his thumb across the head, enjoying how Ellis reacted until he tried to suppress his noises. "Don't stop yourself," He purred, kissing along his jaw. "Make all the noise you can, I wanna hear you." With that, he made a ring with his thumb and finger, before tightly dragging down Ellis' shaft, making the younger man yelp.

Nick did this a good few times, getting the feel for Ellis, gauging his reactions. When he curled the rest of his fingers around his length, starting to pump his fully and slowly, Ellis' hands scrabbled across the peeling wallpaper, needing something to hold onto.

"Hang on." Nick murmured, letting go of the mechanic for a moment, causing him to look confused and desperate. The older man was unbuckling his belt, glancing up at Ellis as he did, a twinkle in his eyes just about visible.

Ellis licked his lips and his heart rate increased further when Nick got his achingly hard cock out. He indulged himself with a couple of lazy strokes, eyes closed, enjoying it mostly because he knew Ellis would be unable to look away.

Then he stepped forward and filled the gap between them, hips fitting together perfectly and Nick fiercely took Ellis' lips. He started grinding on him again, and this time he was not stopped, and Ellis was reciprocating enthusiastically. This kiss was mostly controlled by Nick, as the younger man was too busy moaning or cursing with pleasure to be able to kiss back.

With one hand, Nick took Ellis' and entwined their fingers, pinning his hand against the wall. The mechanic's grip was strong despite his clammy skin. His other hand wedged their members together, stroking and rubbing in a way that completely shocked and almost finished Ellis.

They were around the same size, and went together so well. Ellis quivered all over, it was incredible, he never wanted it to end. He was lost in a world with Nick- just like in reality, really- only this version was much more pleasant.

Nick's calloused skin and the rings on his fingers were making an even quicker job of getting Ellis off. The tight upwards strokes he was doing while rubbing his own dick against Ellis' were so stimulating, the younger man had to concentrate on not bringing proceedings to an abrupt end. Also because he assumed Nick would be nowhere near as close as he was- when, unbeknownst to him, the conman was trying to hold off too.

It wasn't because he was embarrassed about how worked up he was, he just wanted to cling onto the wonderful sensations coursing through his body. His arousal had been mostly caused by Ellis' noises and reactions, and Nick hadn't realised how much he liked the kid's accent until he heard his name groaned out in that Southern tone. Usually, he wasn't too keen on some accents, Southern being one of them, but hearing it spoke in such a lustful way made him reconsider.

Another factor that really turned Nick on was their age difference. He guessed that he must have been at least ten years Ellis' senior, and the fact that he was in the middle of something so intimate and _hot_ with an irresistible guy in his early twenties almost made Nick blow his load right there.

Ellis was pushing Nick's hand off of them both, and he was about to question his actions when Ellis took over, squeezing their dicks together, so his words fell into a moan.

He was still holding Ellis' other hand, and squeezed hard, the other doing the same until their knuckles were white. Nick watched as the Southerner's bicep flexed while tugging at their cocks, the muscles contracting and relaxing and making Nick crazy. He leaned in to kiss him again, thrusting his hips forwards slightly to help the rhythm. But then Ellis used his thumb to smear precum across the heads of their dicks, and Nick yelled "Fuck!" into his mouth, suddenly out of breath. How was he breaking him down so easily?

Nick took back the control, replacing Ellis' hand on them both, pumping them at an increased pace. He could already tell that watching Ellis squirm and yelp from his touch would become one of his favourite things.

"Holy fuck, Ellis..." Nick groaned. "I'm gonna make you come so hard." The dirty words just flowed out, and it was obvious Ellis liked them.

"Oh, oh Nick..." The mechanic whined, shifting his body, giving small thrusts into Nick's hand. He was definitely on the edge. All he needed was a little push.

"I wanna suck your dick so much, kid." Nick told him obscenely. "I'm gonna swallow you down so good that you'll lose your voice from screaming for me."

The very thought of Nick's mouth around him did it for Ellis, and he couldn't formulate any other reply than the shuddering wail that left his throat. His back arched off the wall and he clung onto the other man like a lifeline, his cock throbbing, his whole body sweaty.

Nick was very soon to follow, seeing Ellis orgasm and knowing he did that to the kid being more than he could handle. He bucked his hips frantically into his fist and against Ellis' softening erection, which had gotten slick from his release. He stilled, letting out a long groan as he came, creating an even bigger mess on the two of them.

Ellis was recovering in a daze when Nick pulled him down onto the carpet that was probably dirtier than they were, but neither cared. Nick took a gauze from one of the first aid kits and grabbed his jacket, lying down next to his friend. Friend? He wasn't entirely sure what their relationship was now.

"Ain't that a waste?" Ellis asked as Nick used the dressing to clean them up.

"We've got plenty." He reassured, throwing the dirtied gauze to the other side of the room. He put his jacket over their torsos, sighing happily as he stretched out his back.

Once Ellis had tucked himself into his boxers, he shuffled up closer to Nick. Gingerly, he put an arm across him. Nick welcomed the contact and pulled Ellis even closer, before reaching down and pulling his pants up to his hips single-handedly, but still leaving them undone.

The minutes following were silent, however not awkwardly so. Whereas Nick had to process what they had just done, Ellis needed to get over how _intense_ it was. It was the best he'd had, and he was aware Nick knew that too and would be silently smug about that fact. He did have a right to be, as Ellis was utterly spent to the point of feeling almost sedated.

Nick was replaying what happened in his mind over and over, the sound of Ellis' moans ringing through his ears. He wanted to be the cause of those sounds many more times, more than he could count. Fuck. He realised his breath had quickened, so inhaled deeply in an attempt to normalise it.

Looking down at the younger man, he grinned as he spoke. "So, you like dirty talk, huh?" He was certain he could feel the flush of Ellis' cheek on his chest, even through his shirt.

"Uhm," Ellis gulped, shifting his body. "I guess so. No-one's ever really, y'know..." He trailed off. His reaction to anything similar had never been _that_ strong. "Maybe it's just you." He murmured quietly.

"I'll have to remember that." Nick responded, ruffling Ellis' hair. After all, he could be a whole lot dirtier.

Ellis turned over so he was on his front, and leaned on one of his forearms. "That thing you were sayin'... what you wanna do to me," He started, drawing random patterns on the exposed skin of Nick's chest. "That sounds good." Being in the dark was making him bolder; he couldn't clearly see Nick's face, meaning he was less embarrassed.

Nick propped himself up on his elbows. "Yeah, it does, doesn't it?" He chuckled. "Well, you're gonna have to wait a bit until I can do that. I don't think you're quite ready to go again yet."

Ellis nodded, then smiled. "Sure." He studied the other's face through the darkness, before leaning down to kiss him on the lips tenderly. Nick was taken by surprise by how gently he was being kissed, how _sweet_ it was, making his heart swell. Ellis soon separated their lips, then wordlessly settled down again, snuggling up to the older man.

They let themselves have that night. Where everything else was unimportant, where they could drift away from reality. They were right where they wanted, and needed, to be.

In each other they lost themselves, and let go of the everyday horrors they faced. That night, they let themselves forget and their minds rest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, I'm nervous about this one...  
> The songs for this chapter are: Muscle Man by Ty Segall Band, and The Clock by Ty Segall. They're my favourite songs at the moment, so it's good to fit them both in here.


	5. Normality (Or Lack Thereof)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Firstly I just want to apologise for the long wait for this chapter... I feel like it hasn't been worth it because, honestly, not much happens. Still, I hope you like it!

The morning was still and bright. It was also clear of zombies, from what Ellis could see between the planks of wood used to board up the window. He'd pulled up a chair from the other room, his chin resting on his folded arms that had almost become stuck to the windowsill. It was mouldy and smelt damp, but Ellis didn't mind, as it had been the most amount of calm he'd had for a long while.

He kicked away the gauze that was by his feet, the one Nick had used to wipe them up. In the light, he could also see the grime that it had cleaned off of them. It wasn't surprising, and didn't particularly bother Ellis- he didn't expect to keep up with his hygiene in the apocalypse.

His eyelids drooped occasionally as he watched the world awaken, succumbing to brief periods of sleep. That meant he couldn't tell whether the flock of birds he saw were a product of his imagination portrayed in a dream, or actually real life.

He hadn't really stopped to think about the little things since the outbreak began. Such as the likelihood of ever meeting another uninfected person again, having a shower, petting an animal- or if animals could even be infected with Green Flu. In all the time they'd spent fighting their way across the states, they hadn't crossed paths with any alive animal, infected or otherwise. But as he got deeper into thought, he tried to stop himself, because even considering what condition the world must have been in didn't bear thinking about. In his rare, darker moments, he wondered if too much damage had been done for humans to ever start rebuilding. That wasn't Ellis, though. He much preferred to cling onto that naive hope that people will pull through and maybe one day, there can be something close to normal.

Ellis felt like he had to keep that hope alive, because even the most optimistic guy in the world would start losing motivation following multiple failed rescue attempts, and having to go through that struggle of surviving yet another time. But that bright-eyed kid was still there, and he knew that they were going to find Coach and Rochelle. It wasn't up for debate or questioning- they _were_ going to find each other and be strong again.

It wasn't long before Nick woke up, noticing immediately that Ellis wasn't by his side. Yawning, he sat up and saw an empty chair on the other side of the room.

"Ellis?" He called, and his younger counterpart was quickly at the doorway, his smile bringing everything from the last night back to Nick. "Hey. You recovered yet?" He asked, and Ellis ducked his head, scratching the back of his neck. It was so easy to make him blush.

"Yeah." He chuckled quietly. "How 'bout you?"

"Oh, you know... getting there." Nick answered, zipping up his pants. Ellis wished he wasn't so sheepish; he felt almost silly as he avoided looking at Nick. He'd try to play it cool, but any attempt was instantly foiled by the tell-tale colour of his cheeks.

Nick was on his feet, fully dressed, when Ellis looked back at him.

"There's no reason for you to feel embarrassed, you know that." The older man told him.

"I don't." Ellis said simply.

"You're a terrible liar."

Ellis' expression was close to unreadable. Nick thought for a moment, choosing his words. Although he found Ellis' shyness kind of endearing, he didn't want him to feel as if things between them were at all awkward. He realised that that feeling would eventually fade, but there was no harm in trying to hurry it along.

"Listen... it was something we both wanted, right?" Ellis nodded in reply. "And I don't know about you- well, I can probably guess- but I think it was pretty damn good."

Ellis smiled. "Sure was." He then stepped away from the door, indicating behind him with his thumb. "You want somethin' to eat? You ain't had anythin' in ages."

"Yeah, actually, I'm fucking starved." Nick had more or less forgotten to eat. Everything happening with Ellis was apparently much more important and deserving of his attention.

As the sun rose higher in the sky, the more infected congregated on the streets outside. With no stimulus, they were docile; stepping slowly or sometimes not moving at all. It was eerie when they were like that: just standing around, waiting for something to attack.

While Nick ate, Ellis got around to doing what they didn't bother with the previous night. He healed any small cuts they'd received, cleaned up any older wounds, and reloaded their guns. Nick had to stop himself from staring as Ellis thumbed the shells into the chamber- everything he did was suddenly attractive, it made Nick feel so needy and desperate for him. What's more was that the kid had no idea of what he did to Nick, what he could possibly do if he actually tried to make Nick crazy.

Nick's magnum pistol was placed on the table by which they were standing; Ellis picked it up to check how many bullets it had remaining. He was surprised to see it was fully loaded.

"How d'you still have ammo for that thing?" He asked.

"I don't know. It seems to last forever." Nick told him, putting the weapon back in its holster. Ellis shrugged, then went back into the other room to gather their things, before returning and handing one bag to Nick.

"So, should we get goin'?" Ellis said.

"Ready when you are."

~

Ellis had thrown a pipebomb down the alleyway that the safe house door led to, almost having a heart attack when it bounced off the walls and nearly came back to them. The two kicked their way past the dismembered limbs and parts of spines that littered the ground as a result of the explosion.

Since Ellis had first woken up, the sky had mostly clouded over, giving them periodical breaks from the light and its accompanying heat. But it was still humid, the thick air not entirely pleasant to breathe in.

It was just the icing on the cake when it started to rain.

"Christ sakes." Nick muttered.

"Huh?" Ellis looked around at him; he hadn't noticed the drizzle yet because of his hat covering him from it, and as he was preoccupied with checking for supplies inside the row of garages on one side of the alley. When he noticed what Nick was complaining about, he laughed lightly.

"Aw come on, Nick, it's barely even spittin'!"

Nick moved closer to the walls, hoping to somehow find some cover. "Yeah, well, ever since that time at the goddamn sugar mill I've hated rain as much as zombies."

"Well, I'll keep a look out for an umbrella for ya." Ellis told him with a smile. Nick huffed and followed his lead, silently cursing every raindrop that landed on him.

Whether it was because Nick and Ellis were unlucky, or it was the route they had taken, but the alleys were nowhere near as clear as they'd previously been on their journey. It was just like before, where they couldn't relax for two seconds lest they were swarmed by an undead horde. The situation was also worsened because there was only the two of them, so their chances halved and the dangers doubled. And God forbid if a couple of chargers happened to cross their path.

Around half an hour passed before they found anything to calm again; down a quiet side street they sheltered from the pounding rain under the porch of a house. Nick raked his fingers through his damp hair before sitting down, leaning back on the boarded-up front door. Ellis squeezed up against him, enjoying the feel of Nick's body heat contrasted to the chill of the air.

Nick hand rested on his thigh, and Ellis walked his fingers over his knuckles playfully. The older man watched as Ellis slipped his hand under his, interlocking their fingers. He passed a glance at him.

"What? My hands're cold." Ellis shrugged.

"Right." Nick replied, then smirked to himself. He was becoming very familiar with the feeling of Ellis' hand joined with his own. He closed his eyes and listened to the droplets patting down around them, seeing if the sound would soothe him at all. But he soon became more focused on the uncomfortable way his wet, cold clothes were clinging to his skin, and how the water squelched in his shoes with every movement.

Ellis' voice switched his attention. "So, we just gonna stay here and wait 'till the rain passes?"

"Could do. Something tells me we'd be waiting a while." Nick said. "D'you wanna wait here until everything passes?" He added, imagining them sat there day and night until, one day, the world was normal again.

"Could do," Ellis echoed. "I think we'd be waitin' even longer, though."

Nick was warming to the idea of possibly just staying there, when the pair of them heard a horrible giggling somewhere above them. Ellis instinctively sat up, taking his shotgun in his hands.

"I hate those scampering little bastards." Nick grumbled, getting to his feet.

Ellis walked to the edge of the porch, sticking his head out from under it to check the road. "I think we should get goin'," He said, but before Nick could reply, the jockey that they'd heard dropped from on top of the porch and landed on Ellis' head. The shock caused the mechanic to stumble backwards onto the steps, slipping on his heel before he crashed onto the concrete, practically squashing the jockey, but the thing was still holding onto him, clawing at his face.

Nick was quick to react, especially when Ellis cried out loudly in pain after what Nick assumed was a sharp scratch across his skin. He pulled out his gun and aimed shakily, very hesitant to shoot as Ellis was writhing, trying to force the giggling little shit off of him.

Thinking on his feet, Nick speedily bent down and shoved Ellis onto his side, before jamming the barrel of the gun against the jockey's head and pulling the trigger.

Its brain and blood shot out and splattered on the ground. Nick grimaced a little, then helped Ellis up and back under the porch to briefly check for injuries. There was a large scratch on his cheekbone, just below his left eye, that thankfully wasn't bleeding much but looked sore.

Ellis sucked in a breath through his teeth as the older man gently rubbed off any dirt on the surrounding skin.

"Do you want me to patch that up?" Nick offered, going for his medkit.

"No, no..." Ellis declined, stopping him. "I'll wait 'till we're at a safe house or somethin',"

"You sure?" Nick frowned slightly.

"I'm sure, but we really gotta leave now. I bet a bunch'a them's about to come 'round that corner after the racket I was makin'."

"Alright." Nick agreed, and after a moment's consideration, took him by the hand for another time, pulling him down the road and away from the anticipated flood of infected.

~

As Nick and Ellis got further away from the suburban areas, mostly consisting of little idyllic neighbourhoods, they got deeper into a small city. They were usually wary of going into once largely populated places as they seemed more dangerous, but they realised, especially after the swamps, that everywhere was unsafe; the zombies had seemingly spread to every corner of the globe, nowhere was untouched by their presence.

Their luck appeared to have switched up, for the rain was easing off, the clouds clearing, furthermore the current part of their trek was remarkably more relaxed than it had been earlier.

The pair of them were roaming an unassuming street, peering every so often into store windows in case they saw anything worth grabbing, before they rounded a corner and were faced with something rather unexpected.

A large crater dipped in almost the whole width of the street, so the two approached it cautiously, for one because the ground was cracked and raised in places, but primarily because they couldn't see how deep it was- therefore didn't know what could be lurking inside.

"Holy shit..." Ellis commented as he neared the edge, Nick holding onto his arm for the younger man's safety and his own reassurance. "You think this is from when the army was doing all that bombing?" He asked.

"It must be." Nick responded, looking down into the hole. It wasn't particularly deep, although a nearby building had also been affected by the previous explosion, and part of it had collapsed into the crater.

A small number of infected were stood in the crater, from where they must have mindlessly wandered and fallen inside. A few had appeared to have disturbed to debris from the building, as there was at least one partially crushed under the rubble. But it was still alive and determined, for when Nick accidentally kicked a rock into the hole, attracting its and the others' attention, it reached out with its mangled arms and growled feebly. The other zombies were also desperate to get to the two survivors, but their attempts were in vain; there was little grip to help them climb up and most of what they could get their hands on crumbled away in an instant.

"Let's not stay here." Nick told the other man, leading the way to the only intact part of the road in order to pass the crater.

Further down the road was a multi-storey parking lot, and it wasn't where they needed to go, however Nick insisted on looking inside to continue his search of a working car. He didn't know if it would be worth all of the effort of finding it, because they never knew when they'd reach another impassable barricade and have to leave it behind. Yet he figured that driving was better and safer than walking, so he may as well try.

On the first floor, they switched on their flashlights and sweeped them around the dark corners; Nick found a bile jar and stuffed it in his bag. The lack of cars on that floor was peculiar- the only one had no engine and its windows were smashed.

The second level looked more hopeful. They split up briefly to explore opposite sides of the floor, each taking down a couple of infected. The place smelt stale, and their lights displayed the mass of dust specks floating in the air. Ellis clamped his hand over his nose and mouth to avoid breathing it in.

He didn't bother looking in cars that he knew would be useless to them- strangely, several had missing doors, which couldn't work for them if, depending on the circumstances, they'd have to hide or sleep in it.

But then Ellis found exactly what they were looking for.

"Nick! Look over here!" He called, almost excitedly. Nick took a moment before he found Ellis again, standing by a car and grinning.

"What's up?" He questioned, though Ellis just indicated towards the driver's side window.

"Check it out."

There it was: keys still in the ignition, a perfectly normal, undamaged interior, albeit a bit dirty, but good looking nonetheless. Nick smiled. He was so happy with Ellis he could kiss him. Well, he supposed he really _could_... but after they tested if the vehicle would actually work. It must have been stationary for a long while, so it could be difficult to get it started again.

Wary of setting of any alarms, Nick took hold of the door handle, and was pleasantly surprised when the door opened easily, the creaking noise it made echoing throughout the floor.

He got into the driver's seat, observing the dials, and saw what he expected: it had very little gas.

"Give it a go, then," Ellis encouraged, leaning on the open door.

Nick turned the key and the car revved up slightly before dying down. He tried another time and the engine lasted slightly longer, but it still wasn't going anywhere at that point. He stepped out, closing the door.

"We should try to find some gas first." He said, even his tone of voice implying it would be a long shot.

On the next and final level before the roof, there was the rotting body of a spitter, whose stench made Ellis gag.

"Christ, I thought I'd be used to that shit by now." He spluttered, taking long strides away. Nick didn't say as much, but he felt the same. He didn't want to get used to the world they now lived in, but he knew that in some senses, he was way beyond that point.

There were more cars on this floor, and they separated and searched for around five minutes before concluding they had hit a dead end.

"Bullshit," Nick huffed. "I thought we might have had a chance there."

"It's alright..." Ellis started, in an attempt to make him feel better. "Walking ain't so bad. But I guess if ya really want I can check up on the roof-"

"No, you're staying here with me. I'm gonna check around one more time." This time Ellis followed him as he closely searched every space- looking for a gas can or anything that might help them on their way. He had nearly given up when something caught his eye, next to a car that he hadn't given a second thought because it was burnt out. There was a gas can, and although it was empty, next to it were a rubber tubes used for siphoning.

Nick grinned. "Looks like someone had the same idea as us." He said, ignoring the dried patch of blood nearby.

"Sweet!" Ellis exclaimed, going over to grab the items. "Shit, let's go get some gas, then!" He said, and practically bounded away before Nick called out to stop him.

"Hang on there, kid," Nick instructed.

"Huh? Why?"

"I got something to do first." He replied simply, then beckoned Ellis to follow him.

On his first search, Nick had also found a small storage room that had little more than traffic cones, so he had initially disregarded it. But it would have a use now.

He opened the door for Ellis, who looked at him confusedly. He didn't particularly want to go in a dark, dingy old cupboard.

"Just trust me." Nick requested, and so Ellis walked inside, followed closely by the older man, who clicked the door shut behind them.

"What's goin' on?" Ellis asked, turning to face him.

"Well, you're gonna taste of gasoline in a minute... I'm not going to wanna kiss you then," Nick grinned.

"Why am _I_ siphoning the gas?"

"You found the car."

"The car that _you_ wanted. And you found these." Ellis argued, thrusting the gas can and tube over to him. Nick chuckled lightly.

"Yeah, alright, you win. I guess that was just a shitty excuse to do this." In one swift movement, Nick dropped everything in his hands to grab Ellis by the shoulders, twist them both around and push him against the door.

Nick took Ellis' lips with his own, while flat palms and splayed fingers roamed his muscled chest and arms. Even though this _thing_ between them hadn't been going on for long at all, Ellis could already how Nick would be. He had so much intensity, but definitely in a good way- like how he effortlessly managed to get Ellis from nought to sixty in seconds. Ellis wondered if he was easy to read, or if Nick was just incredibly skilled- but right then, he didn't really care, as long as it didn't stop.

Nick left a wet trail of saliva down Ellis' jaw and neck, before cupping one side of his throat while his lips brushed the other side, occasionally pecking little kisses on the skin.

He then opened his mouth wider, using his tongue and teeth to show off how talented he was, also to give Ellis a taste of what was to come later. His tongue teased, his teeth grazing the flesh, all the while growling quietly- vibrating against Ellis' skin and making him shiver.

The young mechanic was expecting a lot of lovebites in the foreseeable future, and he didn't at all mind the possessive brandings that would be marking his skin; he thought of maybe returning the favour when he got a chance.

Nick soon took his mouth away and began descending on Ellis' body, who opened his eyes when he felt the movement; when his vision focused, he saw Nick on his knees before him. The older man had his hands on the younger's hips, rubbing his thumbs over the hipbones, while sometimes bringing them closer to his crotch.

"Shit, Nick, now? Really?" Ellis asked in disbelief.

Nick smiled mischievously. "If you want."

Ellis rested his head back against the door behind him. _Of course_ he wanted to, that was obvious and Nick could see it. But their location also meant he wouldn't be able to relax fully, seeing as there was only a weak wooden door between them and a whole world of monsters. And he knew he wouldn't be able to keep his mouth shut once Nick started on him.

"Just... wait 'till we're safe." Ellis said reluctantly.

"Whatever you say..." Nick replied, focused on Ellis' toned stomach as he hitched his t-shirt up slightly. But when he looked back up and noticed something crawling over Ellis' shoulder, he scrambled backwards and up onto his feet.

"Jesus Christ," He muttered, keeping his distance.

"What?" Ellis asked, before looking at his side. "Aw, it's just a spider." He put his hand near the arachnid and it climbed onto his palm, then scuttled up and down his forearm.

"I fucking hate those things," Nick glared at it, his body language defensive.

"So zombies are okay, but spiders are terrifyin'?" It was now Ellis' turn to tease.

"It's called a phobia, asshole!" He retorted. Ellis then stepped closer, holding out his hand with the offensive creature on it. Nick swore, then threatened him. "If you get any closer I'll never touch you again, overalls!"

"Fine, fine..." Ellis laughed, guiding the spider from his palm to the floor. Nick grabbed his things and was out of that room as quick as lightning, a smug Ellis quickly at his side.

"You're definitely getting the gas now." Nick told him.

"Sure thing," Ellis, smiling. After a moment, he added, "Man, I can't believe you're scared of spiders."

"Shut up."

~

Miraculously, they found enough of the type of gas they needed in order to get a good distance away before needing a refill, so the hopes were now resting on the car actually working.

While Ellis had been siphoning the gas, Nick felt almost creepy in the way that he kept staring. It was impossible to look away from those full lips, wrapped around the end of the tube, his cheekbones hollowing as he sucked in to get the gas. Nick thought that it must have been intentional and he knew what he was doing. No one could be that hot by accident.

Nick poured the gas into the fuel tank very carefully; every drop was precious and not to be wasted, they didn't know when they could find any fuel again.

Ellis insisted on starting the car as he siphoned all of the gas, making a bee line to the driver's seat in case Nick tried to do it anyway. His hand ghosted near the key, and he looked around to the other man.

"Ready?"

"Of course!" Nick hurried him on, he'd waited long enough already.

Ellis turned the key, and the engine gave an unpromising noise, spluttering before suddenly changing to normal, being brought into life. Nick nearly cheered at the sound, it was so sweet: sweeter than birdsong and violins and laughter all mixed into one.

"Fuck yes!" Nick exclaimed. Ellis revved the engine a couple of times before switching it off, then turned to Nick, grinning broadly.

"Looks like we got ourselves a ride."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, sorry for the long wait, life has been very hectic as of late and I have less and less time every day to write. I hope the next chapter will be up sooner!  
> Also, sorry if I seem to fixate on the weather... I'm British, so it's all I can talk about.  
> The song for this chapter is The Hand by- you guessed it- Ty Segall.


	6. In The Dark

It felt no less than incredible to be driving a car again. Getting behind the wheel of Jimmy Gibbs Jr.'s car had been simply phenomenal for Ellis, and this felt almost as good because it was possibly Nick's and his way of reaching the coast, or would at least facilitate their journey there.

He would admit that he became quite attached to Jimmy Gibbs' car over the short time it was in his possession; he was the only one of the group who had driven it, and just the fact that his hero had sat in that same seat was a big deal for him.

Ellis also knew that in this new world, it would be sensible to not form any kind of attachment, because the chances of that thing being ripped away from him were so much higher. But he couldn't help it; he was an emotional person who cared for people who didn't even particularly care for him. So it wasn't at all a surprise when he realised his feelings for Nick were becoming increasingly stronger. Of course, he'd always liked Nick, but with the recent development of their relationship, that liking had grown into something more.

That was how it always went with Ellis. He'd never been intimate with someone that he didn't feel for; he wasn't the sort of guy to have sex for the sake of it. There has to be something there, some kind of feeling- which he had for Nick. He wasn't certain what he would call those feelings at that point, but he did know that just having them scared him. Leaving behind Jimmy Gibbs' car was hard enough, so he didn't even want to think about not having Nick with him.

He cast a glance sideways to the passenger seat, where Nick was resting with his eyes closed, reclined back with his seatbelt undone. Ellis had initially insisted that he wore it as they got out of the city, so Nick kept it on until they reached a long stretch of highway that, from what they could see, was clear.

He wasn't sleeping, but relaxing and enjoying the fact that he _could_ relax, and be on the road at the same time.

"Sleepy?" Ellis asked, for once comfortable with taking his eyes off of the road.

"Not really," Nick faced him, glancing to his toned arms and hand on the steering wheel, with that strong grip of his. "What about you? You wanna switch?" He offered. Ellis had been driving ever since they got the car, so he was wondering when the kid would want to rest, but Ellis shook his head.

"Not yet. You can drive after we get to the saferoom... if ya want to, that is." He smiled, crinkling the small bandage on his cheekbone. Nick had patched it up for him before they left, ever so gently dabbing at the cut, taking extra care to avoid Ellis' eyes, before covering it with a small dressing that he promised to change later on.

"Sure. It'll give you a break." Nick answered, not that he thought Ellis really needed it. The kid would probably keep his eyes open with toothpicks if he thought that Nick didn't want to drive. The older man closed his eyes again, and didn't realise that he was soon drifting off, as when he came to the car was stopped outside a safehouse.

"Not sleepy, huh?" He said with a smile. Nick stretched out, groaning.

"I guess all that running around and shit has finally caught up with me. Doesn't affect you, I see."

"Yeah... well, you're old." Ellis joked, before getting out of the car, leaving a bemused Nick behind him. He followed Ellis into the saferoom, almost lost for words.

"Old? I'm old- really?" He questioned. In his mind, he still thought of himself as relatively young.

"Yeah! I mean, aren't you, like, 40? 45?" It was clear that Ellis was teasing, but he wouldn't care anyway if Nick was that age. Somehow, the age difference did it for him- and apparently Nick was helping him discover all of his kinks.

"Try taking about a decade off of that, kid." Nick scoffed. "Besides, if I'm old then I guess that means I'm more experienced..."

"Oh yeah?" Ellis stopped his raiding of the safehouse's supplies to listen. "At what?" Teasing. Most definitely teasing. Ellis could poke fun and wind Nick up, but Nick was safe in the knowledge of how good he was, how much he could break Ellis down if he wanted to.

So Nick just ignored Ellis' question, and nodded towards the supplies. "Find anything good?"

Ellis wasn't stupid, despite there being evidence to suggest otherwise, and he knew that this was one of Nick's games, meaning his best bet was to play along.

"Not much, we already got more health kits than we can carry, but..." He searched around before handing Nick a small box. "Think you might need this."

Nick took it and inspected what it was: a box of hair dye, intended for men whose hair were graying. He shook his head and dropped the box, kicking it aside.

"You cheeky shit." He said, abandoning the poker face, as did Ellis with his, finally laughing.

Nick didn't even want to think about that. He avoided any mirrors and reflective surfaces, not wanting to know how he looked. He wouldn't be surprised if his hair had gone gray from stress at that point, especially because of him and Ellis being separated from Coach and Rochelle.

"Looks like there's nothing here," Ellis informed him after sifting through everything there. "Must'a been looted ages ago." He peered through the bars of the steel door, noting the how dark the sky had become. "It's, uh... getting kinda late. We should probably stay here for the night."

Nick rolled his eyes, stopping Ellis' fidgeting fingers by closing his hands over them. Ellis wasn't at all wary of travelling at nighttime at the start of the apocalypse, but since the split from the other half of the group, he avoided darkness more than witches.

"Look, you've got nothing to be scared of," Nick thought for a second. "Well, actually, you do. But we're good, right? All that we've been through... like that time at the amusement park. What was it called? Whistling socks or something?"

"Whispering Oaks," Ellis corrected, then chuckled.

"Right. Well, it was pitch black the whole time we were there and it wasn't bad,"

"Shit yeah, it was fun!" Ellis smiled. While tiptoeing past an extremely pissed off witch in what felt like the world's longest tunnel of love didn't really strike Nick as fun, he couldn't bring himself to argue with him.

"And with the car, we're more protected. I'll drive and you can keep lookout if that'll make you feel better."

"Sure." Ellis said, practically forgetting why he was apprehensive in the first place.

Only one of the car's headlights worked, and even then it was dim and repeatedly flickered, barely lighting the path for them, and infuriating Nick in particular. It put him on edge to not know what was more than five feet ahead of them; of course he wasn't at all worried about smashing into a zombie because the blood would make a mess of the paint job, but because of Ellis' and his safety, and the possible damage it could cause the car that was already on its last legs. He thought that running over an infected would be weirdly satisfying, in the same way that seeing a dozen of them gather around a pipebomb before being blown to hell felt good. He realised it was probably weird, but he had to enjoy the little things.

Ellis was keeping to his word, constantly watching his side of the freeway that they had rejoined after the saferoom detour.

"You don't have to keep doing that, you know," Nick told him. "It's not like you can even see anything. Why don't you sleep?"

"I'll sleep when we get there," Ellis yawned, resting his head against the window. He didn't like how fatigued he was becoming. He used to be able to stay awake and energised for hours, but at that point the exhaustion and the stress was catching up and taking him over. And even when he could relax and sleep, his patterns were inconsistent and dotted with nightmares. Ellis was a heavy sleeper before; now he jolted awake at the sound of a pin dropping.

His eyelids were drooping when he heard Nick say, "Oh, shit," while bringing the car to a halt.

The road continuing along the freeway was blocked by a makeshift barricade, constructed from a bundle of things, including a couple of car doors and what appeared to be a dining table, complete with a few chairs thrown on top.

"Just drive through it," Ellis suggested, inspecting the weak-looking blockade.

"No, we don't know what's in there... if we just charge in there we could hit something that could really fuck up the car. Or us." He drove a little closer, hoping to shed some light on what else made up the barricade. "I think we might have to take this down by hand."

Ellis slumped back in his seat. Of course, if that was what they had to do, then he'd do it, but he was just so tired.

"Let's go, then," He said unenthusiastically, going to open the door.

"Woah, there," Nick replied, stopping him with a hand on his arm. "Not now, sport. It's dark as shit and you look like you're gonna collapse."

"What are we doin', then?"

Thankfully they'd recently passed a road splitting off from the freeway which returned to street level. Nick turned the car around and drove back to it while explaining that they'd find somewhere else to hole up for the night, and dismantle the barricade in the morning.

He knew that neither he nor Ellis were in the mood to search through the many nearby buildings in the slight hope that one would be zombie-free and safe enough to sleep in. So he parked the car under the freeway that they were just on, checking the area was empty before switching off the engine.

Ellis sat up and looked around, looking again for infected. "Are we sleepin' here?" He asked.

Nick nodded. "Uh-huh. It isn't exactly five star, but..." He trailed off, wondering how to possibly make it seem nicer.

"But it's better than nothin'."

"Yeah," Nick agreed. "I mean, a place to sleep's a place to sleep." He tried to best it up the best it could, but it still didn't actually feel like a place to sleep. It felt cold and unsafe. Furthermore, Nick felt horrendously exposed to infected, to the point where he knew he wouldn't fall asleep unless he could do it with his eyes open.

"I can't sleep like this," He admitted, after lying back and staring at the ceiling for a few minutes.

"Me neither." The younger man agreed. He'd been trying to ignore the fact that a zombie could shuffle past, notice them and bring its friends along, subsequently fucking up their night and chances of sleeping.

"Hang on, just stay there." Nick instructed, opening the door on his side and swinging his legs out. He checked the surrounding areas as far as his gun's flashlight would reach, and once he was satisfied it was clear, he got out.

Ellis watched in confusion as Nick found some cardboard boxes nearby the car, and started to rip off the sides of each one.

"What are you-?" Ellis asked in a hushed tone.

"Look," The older man replied. He tucked one side of cardboard against the window of the driver's door. "See? Even better than tinted windows." He said, happy as it stayed in place

"Oh, yeah!" Ellis grinned widely. Nick passed him a few sides of cardboard to board up the windows on his side. Soon enough all of the windows were blocked up, doors locked and the whole place felt a lot more comfortable than before.

It was very dark, and even by the time that Ellis' eyes had adjusted he could barely see Nick by his side or tell if he was sleeping. He turned onto his side and gazed into the patch of darkness where he thought Nick's face would be, suddenly finding himself unable to sleep.

There was something in the air between them, a lingering feeling that needed addressing. He could tell Nick wasn't sleeping, but he asked anyway.

"Are you asleep?" He whispered.

"Wide awake." Nick said, voice breaking the silence.

"Yeah, me too." Ellis chuckled nervously, before silently cursing himself. He felt like he was on a first date, desperately trying to form a conversation. He didn't know whether to say anything else or to just close his eyes and shut his mouth until he finally slept. He opted for the latter but was disturbed by sounds of movement from Nick's side. The older man's voice was close when he spoke.

"Push your seat back."

Ellis jumped a little, partly at the huskiness of Nick's voice.

"Uh, okay..." Ellis murmured, reaching underneath the seat and pulling the lever while pushing back on his feet.

He could just about make out Nick climbing over to his side and kneeling in the footwell, hands sliding up his thighs. Ellis went to ask Nick what he was doing, but his breath was caught in his throat, anticipating what was to follow.

Nick pushed himself slowly upwards, while his hands moved to Ellis' side, smoothing over the skin up to his ribs. He pressed his body against the younger man's, bringing their lips excruciatingly close together. Ellis hadn't made a noise until Nick moved himself just far away enough so that Ellis failed when he tried to kiss him.

"Uh-uh. I thought I was in the driver's seat now."

"Well, yer actually in _my_ seat," Ellis corrected with a smirk.

"If you're gonna be like that..." He walked his fingers near to Ellis' crotch, and Ellis held in a whine. "I guess I should go straight back to my seat, 'cause I'm getting sleepy." He gave an exaggerated yawn, trying to gauge a reaction from the mechanic. Which he did; Ellis, having had enough of being teased, grabbed either side of Nick's head, pulling him forward into a ferocious kiss. Nick indulged himself briefly before stopping. "See? Not nice, is it? I can wind you up a lot more than you can wind me up, overalls."

Usually, Ellis would have argued with that statement, but he was so desperate for that hand to move a little bit closer to where it needed to be, that he was willing to agree with anything Nick so just so he'd get on with it. And goddamn if that didn't prove how needy Ellis became so quickly under Nick's control.

"Okay, Nick, jus'... don't stop, please."

"Seeing as you asked nicely."

As the conman started kissing him again, easily being the dominant force, rain began to lightly drum down on the roof of the car. He smiled against Ellis' lips at how perfect it felt: finally being in a working vehicle, with a hot young thing pinned under him, who he could have begging in seconds; all the while rain that getting gradually heavier made them nostalgic of how life used to be.

Ellis fumbled about in the space in between them, blindly attempting to undo his tied-up coverall sleeves. Nick went to stop him, wanting to do it himself or make him wait, but changed his mind. What he could see beneath him in the darkness- Ellis trying to undress with shaky fingers, was too hot of a view to end.

He leaned back in, noticing that the last mark he'd left on Ellis' neck was fading, so decided to rectify that by planting his mouth over that same spot again.

"You're obsessed with doing that to me," Ellis breathed.

"I don't hear you complaining." Nick said, moving up a bit so he was speaking right in his ear, which had an effect that he was not expecting. His huskier than usual voice made Ellis choke on a breath, an obvious shiver running through him while goosebumps formed on his skin. "You like that, huh?" He closed the small gap, lips touching the shell of other's ear. "You think I can make you come just by talking to you?"

"Holy Jesus, Nick." Ellis trembled, completely hard in his boxer shorts.

"Oh, I think I could." Nick's hand descended, much too slowly in Ellis' opinion, down to his groin, slipping inside his loose coveralls. However, still not inside of his boxers, Nick deciding to deny him of that pleasure for the time being; if anything, it was because Ellis looked too good all flushed and desperate, rather than Nick reaffirming his control.

"Oh, god." Ellis bit his lip and rested his head back, battling his love-hate relationship with how Nick had him on edge in no time at all.

He went back down Ellis' body and into the footwell, bringing his coveralls down to his knees at the same time.

Even though the night was chilly, neither felt a thing because of the burning lust making the both of them a bit hot under the collar- especially Ellis, whose shirt was slightly sticking to his back with sweat.

When Ellis' cock was finally grasped, skin on skin, he sighed in relief and his eyelids fell closed. It was when he felt a warm tongue at the head that they flew open again and he accidentally bucked deep past Nick's lips.

The conman coughed and took him out of his mouth, holding him tightly at the base of his dick.

"Sorry..." Ellis said.

"Calm down, sport." Nick told him, breathing hot over the saliva on his flesh, before pressing his lips on the underside of his cock. Nick slowly took him deeper, working his tongue wetly up and down the length, swallowing around it.

Ellis arched his back then tried to sit up, but Nick shoved him down, keeping his hand pressed onto his stomach, fingers twisting in the fabric of his shirt.

The mechanic gazed down at Nick hungrily, his eyes effectively doing the begging for him. The bottom half of his shaft was being stroked firmly, the top being engulfed by a wet heat. His mouth was hanging open, heart thumping inside his ribcage as he was overwhelmed by Nick's skill. It was as if every flick of his tongue, every small scrape of teeth was planned perfectly with the intention of making him a shaking mess.

He felt like, to Nick, he was an open book, with big, bold letters than he only needed to glance at. Ellis was conflicted because he didn't want to be so easy to read, but right then he didn't really care because what was happening as a result was too damn good.

Meanwhile, Nick was becoming aware of the growing bulge in his pants. It was tempting to shove a hand down there to relieve himself of the pressure, but he wanted all focus on Ellis, who he was sure wouldn't be lasting much longer.

He then remembered his recent discovery of Ellis' penchant for smutty talk, and pulled his mouth away. Ellis whined quietly, clammy hands searching for Nick's head. Nick jerked him off roughly as he proclaimed the filthy admissions.

"Jesus, Ellis, you're making me so hard right now."

"Nick..." The younger man pleaded.

"You sound real fucking hot, fireball, Christ, you're gonna make me come." He said, slightly embarrassed at the truth in the statement.

"Please, Nick, I can't..." Ellis panted, his accent sounding thicker and making Nick hotter. "I can't take any more'a yer dirty talk, I'm gunna explode."

"Yeah? You close?"

"Mmm-hmm." Ellis hummed, wanting Nick to get back to it. Which he thankfully did, taking almost all of him down in one go. Ellis tried hard to hold in his loud cry, not completely succeeding. He also managed to over power the pressure Nick had on his stomach, sliding his cock further down his throat. But Nick allowed Ellis this one time to lose himself and have some control, because he knew how quickly the tables could be turned.

It was at that point that the car shook from an impact much harder than the raindrops. One of the infected had clearly bumped into the side of the car, but that didn't stop Ellis jumping out of his skin.

"Shit, Nick, wait. Stop, there's a zombie out there." He whispered.

"You want me to stop?" The older man asked. Ellis looked to his side, where there was a zombie separated by only a few inches of metal, and helplessly considered. He bit his bottom lip.

"No..." He admitted.

"You're gonna have to be extra quiet, then."

Ellis nodded quickly and tightly pressed his lips together. His cock was then fully engulfed again, and he realised just how difficult it would be to keep his voice down. Very soon he found himself nearing the edge, his body heat rising and the sweat on his brow increasing.

"Nick... Nick, I'm so close, oh Jesus-" His sentence was cut short by a choked intake of breath, a desperate little sound caused by Nick halting his actions, apart from the tight ring he'd made with his fingers at the base of Ellis' cock.

"Wha- what are you doin'?"

Nick squeezed his cock tighter and smirked as Ellis made a noise that was a delightful combination of pleasure and pain.

"That was for coming near me with that fucking spider."

Ellis stared in bewilderment, eyes wide as he tried to remember what Nick was talking about. In all the passion, everything else had slipped his mind.

"Nick, shit, I'm sorry, please, just..."

"And for saying I have gray hair."

"Fuck, I'm sorry! Please!" Ellis whispered harshly. That was all Nick needed to hear, as he finally sucked Ellis down, longer and harder than he had before, successfully bringing the younger man to completion.

Ellis groaned perhaps louder than he should have done, his entire body trembling as he came deeply down Nick's throat, who helped him ride through it, holding his hips down so he wouldn't buck up too hard.

Afterwards, he laid back again, trying to find calm in the darkness of his closed eyes. Along with his heavy breathing, he heard Nick move from between his legs in the footwell and back to the driver's seat.

"God," Ellis breathed following a quiet moment.

"Yeah." Nick concurred, the throbbing in his groin again reminding him that he was not yet finished. He quietly pulled down the zipper on his pants to help get rid of some of the pressure he felt building up.

"I'm so tired now," Ellis commented.

"Go to sleep, then. I'll stay up a little longer until it gets quieter outside." Nick told him.

"Okay." Ellis yawned, then curled up on his seat, turning away from the other man.

He was out like a light, which Nick was thankful for as he slipped a hand beneath his waistband, a quiet moan escaping his lips.

~

They couldn't tell if it was morning or closer to afternoon when they awoke, but they got to work on de-constructing the barricade as soon as they could. Moving most of the debris was relatively easily, save from a few parts that the car could barely squeeze through.

Nick was driving again, which was initially met with disagreement from Ellis, until they eventually agreed that Ellis could drive as much as he wanted to from the next day; so he was happy.

Ellis then brought up something which he'd been considering since the previous night.

"Nick..."

"Yeah?"

"What, like... what are we? What's this thing we got?" He said, struggling to think of the words he needed.

"You mean _us_?" Nick tried to clarify.

"Uh-huh."

"Well... I don't know, really. We're something. But there's not really a need to label or call ourselves anything anymore, 'cause there's no-one to tell about it." He said.

"Apart from Rochelle and Coach,"

"Yeah, of course,"

"And I'd kinda like to have something to call us anyway. Like, if we're together or not-"

"We're together, then?" Nick asked, locking eyes with Ellis, who smiled slightly. "Do you want us to be _together_?" He grinned.

"Sure." Ellis agreed, smiling broadly and looking away. Then, before he could reconsider, he leaned over to Nick's side and kissed him awkwardly on the side of his lips.

Nick returned the kiss the best he could and chuckled. "Thanks, kid."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fuck, again, I'm really sorry for the long wait. I just hope you like it!  
> Song for this chapter is Would You Be My Love by Ty Segall.


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